Perseverance
by khatsii
Summary: What would you do if you were to find yourself rescued from drowning by a family of vampires? What would you do if you had no recollection of your past in your mind yet your body seems to be doing the remembering? What if...?
1. Blurb & Disclaimer

**Perseverance**

What would you do if you were to find yourself rescued from drowning by a family of vampires? What would you do if you had no recollection of your past in your mind yet your body seems to be doing the remembering? What if...?

Poor Madison, cliché as it sounds, before being rescued by the Cullens she has no recollection of where she originated from, who her family is, her life up until now, all except her name. As she adjusts to the new life she is given, small but simple phases of her past are coming back, and when a couple of strangers come along, one of them seeming to have a lot of hatred towards Madison, she can't help but feel that they are the answer to her past. Regardless of the dangers that may come at her, Madison's determination drives her to find these strangers once again to unlock bits and pieces of her past.

**DISCLAIMER:**

I do not own Twilight nor the characters depicted in the book series. They are all Copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I do, however, claim copyright over the fictional characters which are featured in this story, those of which are not featured in the book series and this story line.


	2. Chpt 1: Cold as Ice

**1. Cold as Ice**

Could I really be drowning? I thought as I looked up at the sky through the ice of the frozen lake. This cannot be it, how could I simply give up like this? Was someone going to find me? What was I going to do? Millions of kids and teenagers fell through the ice and drowned as a result of not being saved in time. How was I going to be any different? I still panicked and held my breath for as long as I could. It was then I realised, I was fine without breathing. Was this the effect the ice was taking on me, considering I would be too frozen to feel anything but a cold icy burn in my throat? The break of the ice let the crisp cold winter air hit my face as I struggled to keep myself up, wanting nothing more than to cough out any water that may have entered my system. I didn't cough out any, there I lay, utterly confused as to why I didn't need to breathe. Something just didn't add up right to me and I wasn't going to leave it at that. Something was up and I needed to know why.

At that very moment I could feel a hand grabbing my arm and pulling me up towards the opening in the ice. That hand had enormous strength, as it pulled me out of the water with one ounce of power. I shivered out of habit, yet I didn't feel the cold at all. Even with the wind hitting the moisture on my face and my clothes. This was too much for me, suddenly I felt heat, I looked to my right to find a rather large boy cradling me in his arms. What frightened me the most was that his face was young yet his body was older, being large, muscular and well built. And his scent... was weird, it didn't make any sense to me why I didn't like it but I had the sudden urge to push him away to save my poor nose. I then noticed he was rubbing my arms, hoping the friction would warm me up, not realising it was doing nothing whatsoever.

I looked at my surroundings, my lips sealed together not wanting to make any noise, I saw a group of very beautiful people. A tall young man, no older than the age of 17, messy chestnut short hair, a crooked half smile on his face as he shook off the ice on his arm. He was clearly the one who pulled me out from underneath the ice, how he managed to crack an opening to grab me was a puzzle to me, yet the large pieces of ice on his arm were something to reckon with. Next to him was a beautiful brunette young lady, her curly hair reaching her elbows, framing a beautiful slim face, she looked around about the same age at the young man. They both looked rather eloped together, as the young lady helped the young man shake the ice off his arm. I gawked at their beauty for a few split seconds and then moved on to the other two people standing with them; another brunette beauty that seemed to share the physical features of the young man and lady, so I assumed she was their offspring. But this puzzled me as she couldn't be past the age of 14, yet the couple were sitting on the age of 17-18. The young girl noticed my puzzled look and smiled gently at me, her innocence radiating from that one smile; I couldn't help but feel relaxed. At last there was a man standing next to her with a hand resting on the young girl's shoulder. He seemed to the oldest of the bunch, but that didn't mean he was grandpa-like with wrinkles all over his face. He was the complete opposite; he couldn't be any older than a man in his early thirties. Blond hair combed back smoothly, not a single hair out of place, and judging by his authoritative stance and cool demeanour, he was the leader. His blue eyes were what entranced me, they were calm and warming, and the small smile on his face seemed to encourage what I was thinking.

"She looks fine but a tad confused," the young man with chestnut hair said, concern ringing through his velvet voice. I fidgeted at thought of how perfect he looked and sounded.

"It seems to be that way, what I find interesting is that she's fully aware of her situation yet physically she is showing no signs of pneumonia or getting sick. She's not even shivering!" the blonde leader replied, placing a cool hand on my forehead, I assumed he was checking my temperature.

"Maybe that's because I'm the one keeping her warm?" the bulky boy carrying me said, full of confidence and mocking.

"No not really,"

"How come?"

"She wasn't even shivering when we pulled her out of the ice water; it was like we were pulling her out of a heated pool," A heated pool? How could they take this accident so lightly? I could have drowned! Well if I knew how to breathe then. Then I remembered, I didn't even breathe once while I was underneath, nor did I remember breathing before falling through the ice. That thought completely blew me off course. How did I manage to come out ok, when I wasn't even breathing? I tried breathing then, realising that there was no relief in my lungs when I exhaled, like I had done many times in my life. What was wrong with me?

"We should take her back to the house anyway, she has a lot of questions for us once she's in the right state of mind," the young man concluded, glancing at me quickly and smiling softly, I simply blinked at him. How the hell did he know what I was thinking? Back to the house? What house? Where were they taking me? I began to feel scared, and without thinking leapt out of the heater-like boy's arms on the soft snow covered ground, about twenty metres away from them. I had surprised myself at the distance I had created between myself and my rescuers. All of them hadn't moved as much as a centimetre at my response. I stood up properly, shaking the ice that covered my clothes.

"Is it something we said?" the heater-like boy asked.

"Who? W-Who…? Where…? H-How…?" I stuttered trying to find right question to ask but they all run through my head at once, it was hard to determine which one I was more curious about.

"Do you want to talk about this here or back at our humble home?" the blonde man asked me gently, I couldn't help but feel entranced by his charm.

"Where am I?" I finally asked.

"You are in Forks, Washington, United States of America," he answered almost immediately.

"What am I doing here?"

"We don't know. We were hoping you could answer that question for us,"

"I have no idea where I've come from, what I'm doing here or who I am, I don't remember anything," I mumbled, frowning at the fact that everything I said was the truth. I didn't remember how I got to Forks or wherever the blonde man said I was in, I didn't know where I was before arriving here, I didn't know anything but my name.

"How about we get back to our house where it's... uh... safe? We can have a good conversation. You can ask us as many questions; we will answer them to the best of our ability no doubt. Then vice versa," the blonde leader suggested, with a warm smile, gesturing towards what seemed to be the way back to their house. I stared at all their hopeful faces and then walked towards them quickly, reaching them within a few seconds. By the time I had noticed our speed, we were standing in front of a beautiful large house, just sitting neatly on the slope of the mountain. It looked warm, inviting and spacious, yet I wasn't expecting any hospitality from my only-to-eager rescuers. I had a feeling they wanted to know more than just who I was and where I had come from, something intrigued them about me, like I wasn't normal or something. I looked down at myself, still the small slim and petite teenager with black wavy hair that just reached my elbows. As I walked slowly into their house I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror near the door and gasped. There in the mirror was a girl I somewhat did not recognise, instead of the pasty skin coloured half-cast I usually saw in the mirror, I saw a radiant beauty staring back at me. My eyes were still the same as far as I knew, bright green, my mother's eyes, even though I couldn't remember her name or what she looked like, a faint memory came a while ago before I fell through the ice, telling me I had my mother's beautiful eyes. I couldn't help but agree with whoever told me so, in terms of its beauty. Bright green eyes, almost entrancing really. I touched my face lightly, completely bewildered at my flawless complexion, much similar to my rescuers, my nose, my lips, my neck, all were perfect in placement and in shape. Then I looked at the very hand I used to touch my face, looking closely at the complexion; perfection. So smooth in texture yet from my experience at the lake with the ice that could have given me bruises, appeared to be tough. As if my physical appearance wasn't enough for me to observe, my sight gave me another reason to be confused, like before I found myself travelling through the snow and meeting these strangers, I was walking around in a blur, like I needed glasses for a long time but it was only now that I had went and gotten them. I saw every grain of dust on the window sill; there weren't many. I moved away from the mirror and looked up at the ceiling, although the ceiling was very high, I could see the interesting decor pattern engraved in the plaster above my head, as if it was right in front of me like the mirror. I could see the every single leaf swaying along with the winter breeze outside the window which was almost a soccer field away from where I stood. It was brilliant, I could see miles away or something near me close into detail and I loved it.

I heard someone chuckle from the living room on my left and noticed there were more people from the ones I had met at the lake. The young couple I had met earlier were sitting on the luxurious antique couch in the middle of the room, the young girl sitting on the arm of the couch, to the young lady's right side, the heater-like boy standing and facing the young girl. Their body language clearly told me there were rather close. In fact everyone seemed to be paired up. As I continued along the line I saw the blonde leader standing behind the young couple sitting on the couch, with his arm around a beautiful young maiden's waist. She had long beautiful brown hair, the waves within her hair framing her petite and flawless face perfectly, her slim figure proved to be easy for the blonde leader to wrap his arms around. She smiled comfortingly when she noticed my eyes had landed on her. Standing next to her was another rather large character; he had rather well toned muscles in his arms and with a clean close cut hair style, it made him look like he was the toughest out of them all. I felt rather intimidated by him but that was soon lost when I glanced at his female companion. She was what I would call the ultimate definition of beautiful. She had long blonde hair that was about an inch or so past her shoulders, her slim physique made her look like a supermodel that would never get fired in any lifetime, yet her eyes had me, she was staring at me with such intensity, I wanted to look at something else but I felt her stare had locked me into a trance I could never escape. Someone cleared their throat loudly, lucky for me as it broke the connection of my eyes with the blonde beauty. I moved towards the young man sitting on the other arm of the couch, next to the young man with the chestnut hair, this young man was blonde that looked like someone had teased it a lot, it suited it him though, sitting nicely on the top of his head. He seemed to be watching me closely, like every form of movement I would make, he would make note of, this made me rather nervous, it made me feel like I was in the wrong and anything I did he would react upon. I made sure that as my eyes moved from one person to the other, especially the new faces, I would stay perfectly still in my place. The last face I had not recognised was the beautiful angelic face of a young girl who looked no older than me, her dark brown hair shot out in different directions as if an invisible crown had been put permanently on her head. Besides the young girl and the young woman standing close to the blonde leader, she seemed to be rather welcoming and warm when my eyes reached her.

"Please don't hesitate to make yourself at home," the young woman said suddenly, making me jump by her singing voice. Her polite manner struck me and I felt embarrassed at having stood so still for so long, I quickly glanced at the young man whose hair was teased, seeing his relaxed facial expression gave me enough courage to take a seat in the couch sitting opposite theirs. I could feel all their eyes on me as I walked quickly towards the couch and sat in the middle. There was silence for a while as I tried to make myself comfortable, it wasn't until the young man with messy chestnut hair spoke, did I remember how to speak.

"You don't have to be afraid young miss. We're merely a family who have a strong bond with each other," He said reassuringly, his voice did the trick, my body relaxed a lot more and I felt free to look amongst the many faces that were all looking at me. Then it hit me... _Young miss?_ He didn't look more than a year or so older than me yet he called me young miss? This threw me off completely.

"Young miss?" I quoted, hoping for an answer. The young man chuckled again.

"Well you are fairly younger than I. If you knew how I old I really am, you would agree to me calling you 'young miss'," he replied, a mocking smile on his face.

"Enough mind games Edward. You're dazzling her! Pretty soon she won't know how to speak!" the young lady joked, hitting his arm playfully, not taking her eyes off me, she smiled gently as she did this, I felt warm inside again. So his name was Edward, a rather old fashioned name as far as I knew. The young man studied for me a while and then smiled; mocking again.

"Yes my name is Edward and yes it did go out of fashion quite a while back," He said, answering to my thoughts.

"I see," I said, now analysing him carefully, he seemed surprised at my response; it was like he was expecting an extreme surprised reaction from me; he was wrong. He raised an eyebrow at me in interest, I knew he could read my mind. So I continued the conversation in my head instead of saying anything out loud. The young man chuckled at my correspondence to his mind-reading, finally letting a laugh leave his lips. His female companion knowing very well I was testing him, smiling encouragingly at me, as if to tell me to keep doing it. The larger man with the nearly shaven hair cut was getting rather impatient though.

"What the hell are you doing Edward? And what the hell is so funny?" he asked impatiently. Edward chuckled shortly, with a gentle sigh following it.

"Impatient as ever Emmett," Edward began, establishing the larger one's name for me, "Young miss seems to know how to play mind games back," Edward replied, his eyes twinkling slightly, the group looked from him to me, again making me the centre of attention, not that it wasn't the case already. I was the topic of interest as far as I knew.

"Perhaps a proper introduction is in order," the blonde leader announced, it made me wonder whether he too could read my mind, cause then he would have known the nicknames I was giving everyone in order to keep track of who was who. So far the only people I really knew by name was Edward and Emmett.

"Very well, I will do it," Edward volunteered with a quick smile. It seemed to occur to me that every time he threw one of his smiles at me, it was like he was trying to get a particular reaction. As for me, I wasn't going to give in to his desire. "My name is Edward Cullen and this my wife, Bella," he gestured to the young lady next to him, who smiled at me warmly once more, "And my daughter, Renesmee who is sitting on the couch arm," Daughter? Did I hear right? How was that possible? She looked 14 and Bella and himself looked no older than 17 or 18. "Jacob is the young gent standing close to Renesmee, you can say they are closely acquainted," he said with a small grimace, as any father would do if he were to introduce a complete stranger to his daughter's supposedly boyfriend. He then gestured behind him towards the blonde leader and his female companion, "My father is Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife, my mother, Esme," Carlisle nodded at me, while Esme smiled warmly. "The impatient and tough looking one behind me is my brother, Emmett Cullen as I had established before and his wife, Rosalie Hales," Emmett saluted me jokingly with a grin while Rosalie stared at me like I wasn't something of her interest. "Naturally to save the best for last, we have my younger sister Alice Cullen on the floor and her boyfriend Jasper Hales," Edward summarised, gestured swiftly from Alice to Jasper, as if to make the relationship between them visual. "Easy to follow?" Edward asked politely, as if ready to repeat the process once more.

"Not a problem," I replied simply, it was as if their names fitted them perfectly, I wouldn't have any trouble remember their names.

"Brilliant," Edward said, his eyes shining with amusement. "And your name young miss?" He asked, his eyes searching my rather still face. I hesitated but then cleared my throat a little; still dry.

"Madison Jordan Taylor," I recited, not trying to make me seem more proper but that was the only thing I could remember of my past in the back of my mind. Edward seemed to know this as well, and naturally this was all amusing to him. This amusement suddenly went serious in a flash, in fact all their facial expressions changed after the friendly introduction. I suddenly grew curious of why. Edward seemed to have read my mind, understanding my curiosity and my complete unawareness. He handed me a small mirror which I had presumed either one of the ladies had handed to him. I opened it up and gasped at my reflection, specifically at my eye color. They had changed from my beautiful bright green, to a dark brown color; I looked up at them hoping to find answers.

"It seems you are what we thought you were, Madison," Edward said shortly, knowing very well I did not understand.

"What do you mean?" I asked, wanting to make sense of what Edward meant.

"Looks like you have a companion to hunt with Renesmee," Edward said cheerfully, Renesmee raised an eyebrow at him, very much in the same way as her own father.

"Hunt? For what exactly?"

"You're thirsty and nothing stops a newborn's thirst,"

"Newborn?"

"How about we just give you something to eat and then we will explain properly what Edward means," Carlisle added over the top of Renesmee, "What we all mean really," he added having seen my eyes scan through the entire family before looking back at him. "Rosalie?" Carlisle began, yet it seemed Rosalie knew what he was asking of her. No quicker than a flash she had a cup in her hand, the scent of what was inside the cup was obvious to me, the thought of it disgusted me as I wrinkled my nose, yet its scent was inviting. I could feel the back of my throat running dry, my body started to tense more and more as the scent tickled my nose, I wanted so much as to pounce on Rosalie right there and then, to steal the cup away from her. Jasper seemed to know what I was thinking as he immediately jumped in front of Rosalie, looking like he was ready to fight. Surprising everyone in the room and myself, I smiled and let a snarl escape my lips. This time Edward took a step forward in front of Bella and Renesmee, with Jacob soon following the suit. Emmett remained in his place but looked more ready to jump at me as I was towards Rosalie. I rolled my eyes and sat back down on the couch, I smoothed my clothes giving me reason to look down on myself and not make eye contact with any of them. When I finally saw no more reason to keep looking down, I tilted my head up to find the entire family completely gobsmacked. They looked as if I had done something so bewildering that I had put them into shock. Jacob was the only one who merely thought this was a joke, he chuckled behind Edward. They didn't move a muscle, as if I was just waiting for an opportunity to pounce when they weren't ready. The scent of what was in the cup tickled my nose like crazy, yet I refrained from doing anything stupid, it was beyond me why I would attack them in the first place. It was only a cup.

"Just put it in the kitchen or something, I'll follow its scent later," I said gesturing to where Rosalie had come from. Each and every pair of golden eyes (except for Jacobs, they were brown) softened, their sudden fear gone as fast as it came.

"How are you able to do that?" Carlisle asked, sounding rather fascinated. "Most of our kind cannot resist. Even if it's only animal blood," his last sentence hit me hard.

"An-Animal blood?!" I shrieked, my eyes widening.

"Back to green again, so interesting," Carlisle observed, analysing my face closely even with the distance between us.

"Carlisle honestly! You expect her to understand if you throw those kind of things at her?" Esme said rather alarmed at my response. She looked more concerned for my wellbeing rather than his, Carlisle chuckled.

"I supposed we do owe her a good explanation," he agreed, giving a reassuring smile back to her.

"No need. She's figured it out already," Edward replied having read my thoughts. And he was right. It had clicked in my head of what Carlisle meant by _our_ kind. The pale white skin, shadows under their eyes like sleep wasn't an option for them, the dryness of my throat and the sudden hunger reflex once the scent of blood reached my nostrils. It was all too obvious now. I had become a…

"Say it," Edward encouraged, his golden eyes piercing into mine. A moment of silence could only tell how long Edward and I stared at each other, but it was long enough for me to build up enough courage to say it out loud.

"Vampire…" I whispered. Everyone else seemed to relax a little, after my little word. Like a baby saying its first world, relaxing and rather exhilarating.

"Well now that this is settled. Do you have questions for us then since you are still a newborn?" Alice piped in; her angelic voice rang like bells in my ear.

"Yes. I have a fair few," I replied carefully, not wanting to give the impression I knew nothing about the topic. But considering they seemed to be opposite of what the story books mentioned, I knew that this was far away from the concept of being afraid of garlic, the sun, crucifixes and sleeping in coffins all day. There seemed to be a lot more to that.

"Well then shoot!" Alice encouraged excitedly.

"The sun?" Was the first thing that came to mind.

"How about we show you that when it is sunny?" Alice suggested with a wide grin, I was beginning to like her more and more.

"My super senses? The strength and power, the enhanced sight, smell and hearing?"

"All part of the world you now belong in,"

"Wouldn't it get too cramped and too much kill to the environment if there is a large group of us here?" this question of mine stumped them. They didn't expect this one.

"Uhhh… next question?" Alice answered both jokingly yet truthfully. She didn't really know the answer to my question but she did want to be polite in answering.

"That is true but Edward, Bella and Renesmee have their own cottage in the clearing, Emmett and Rosalie have their own mansion a fair distance from here too. So there is no need to worry about hunting range," Esme explained kindly, with Carlisle nodding in agreement. This was all too much information to me but something I heard made me alert. Something was coming; it wasn't headed in the direction of any of the family, it seemed to be in my direction. And much to my dismay and fear, it was coming closer at rapid speed. "Madison?" Bella called out to me, but my mind was elsewhere, following the very sound that was drawing near, surely Bella, a vampire such as myself would have heard it fast approaching. The shattering of glass soon confirmed my fear, for those few black seconds, I could hear a lot of swift fast movement, a growl from possibly Jacob and then the still silence as I felt a tight grasp around my neck.


	3. Chpt 2: Burning Desire

**2. Burning Desire**

Funny enough the tight grasp wasn't as painful as it would have been, if I were human that is. My blurred vision prevented me from seeing who was holding me mid-air one-handed but from the texture and structure of the hand grasping me, my opponent was female. I could hear a squeal from the corner; hopefully the Cullens weren't being attacked as well. Yet something would have to holding them back. As my vision came back slowly, I saw exactly who was holding back the family, Carlisle. I managed to turn my head and look down on an angle to who was holding me up in the air, wild black curls that looked more like a mane framing a rather pretty face. Red fiery eyes, thin red lips against her pale skin, though she might have had a tan brown complexion when she had been human. I knew she was a 'fellow' vampire from her strength. There was no way a girl with her slim physique could pick me up by my neck almost effortlessly. Even though this was my first time in meeting her, she did seem rather familiar, like I had known her in a past time. She grinned at what she believed was her victory yet she didn't see what was coming for her. Faster before she react, I kicked her right side hard, she dropped me instantly. Having seen her weakness I kicked her hard with my right foot on her rib cage, sending her flying backwards into the nearest wall. She hit the wall and then fell forwards on her stomach. She lay there for what seemed to be a few seconds and then got up into a fighting stance, a loud growl escaping from the back of her throat. I snarled at her, with a dull look on my face, clearly showing I wasn't interested in fighting her. She noticed this so leapt at me; with my speed I dodged her and punch her right in the stomach with a lot of force. If she were just an ordinary human, I could have pierced a whole in her stomach. I knew she wouldn't pounce at me again as she had collapsed unconscious on the ground, I sighed and then looked at her motionless body dully. The Cullens were closely watching me, monitoring my every movement. I ran quickly from the room, grabbed the nearest rope I could find which was outside in their garage and then came back. I picked up my unconscious attacker, placed her on the couch I was previously sitting on and then bound her arms and her legs together.

"You do realise that won't do much in stopping her," Edward said, coming up behind me.

"I know. At least it will hold her for now. Just in case she's a rough sleeper," I joked, feeling a sense of relief when I heard his chuckle. A loud knock on the door could be heard, the entire family looked at the door for a few silent seconds, and then Carlisle walked casually up to open the guest. There was a huge gust of wind; snowflakes flowing violently into the house, the chill had just reached me when the doors finally closed. There stood a rather tall man wearing a black expensive-looking trench coat. The man looked to be in his late thirties, like Carlisle, but he looked slightly older. He had short brown hair that was slicked back formally, and even though I could not make out much of his stature because of his trench coat, his coat, shiny leather black shoes and large gold rings told me he was a man of high importance and not to be messed with.

"How can I help you?" Carlisle asked invitingly.

"Yes, maybe you can," the man replied reportedly, "That young lady your little friend has tied up is my unruly daughter,"

"My apologies for having tied her up," Carlisle apologised grimly, "But as you can see from the shattered windows your daught..." Carlisle didn't finish as the man cut in quickly.

"Of course I will have those windows looking good as new. _That_ daughter of mine has been nothing but a menace for the last few decades or so," He said roughly, his eyes turning into slits as they landed on his daughter. The way he addressed his daughter was something else, it was like she had shamed him tremendously through her little stunt. It was then I noticed another figure standing almost invisible behind him. He was a young teenage boy, around my age, yet he was almost the same height as the older man. He had wild reddish-brown hair which shot out in different directions, I could tell it was layered and if by chance it was combed down properly it would probably reach the bottom of his ear. When I had spotted him quickly he was looking at the door, as if wishing he was outside. His eyes then began scanning the room quickly, only then noticing my gaze, before turning elsewhere to avoid his stare, I noticed he had warm hazel brown eyes, with a sense of longing lingering in them. I only came back to the conversation between the man and Carlisle when Carlisle had slightly raised his voice in order to be heard properly.

"My windows, sir, are of nothing to my concern and wellbeing of my own family," Carlisle answered, importance ringing through his voice.

"Yes. Yes, I couldn't agree more. Yet it seems my daughter has caused some trouble. The young maiden who tied her up, what is her name?" he asked Carlisle, stunning the rest of his sudden change of concern for the family.

"If you are referring to me sir, my name wouldn't be of importance if we do not know your name," I replied coldly, although I knew better than to speak up against someone older than me, the man seemed rather interested in my somewhat low respect for him. To my surprise and most likely the rest, he chuckled.

"Yes, it seems the young maiden is right; forgive me for not introducing myself upon my arrival. My apologies for walking in without as much as an introduction!" the man apologised, bowing to each of the Cullens. "My name is Jonathan Reed Salvador. Once again I apologise and hope my introduction will make amends,"

"Salvador did you say?" Carlisle asked rather interested, it was like he knew of the name.

"Yes. Yes," Jonathan replied, nodding cheerfully. It seemed that every moment we got to know him a little more, his stern character was looking to be merely an act. Either that or he had a split personality.

"Do you live in London by any chance?" Carlisle questioned.

"Yes. Yes we do!"

"You don't seem to have the accent for it though?"

"Good observations there. We live there but I originated from France uhhhhh..." Jonathan trialed off having realised he didn't know Carlisle's name.

"I'm Carlisle Cullen," Carlisle brushed in quickly, realising his own fault in not introducing himself.

"Oh yes, yes Carlisle of course,"

"You're parents were Spanish?"

"I guess my surname would have given it away?"

"Yes. Well I am aware of a family if our kind within London by the name of Salvador. I was just curious," Carlisle replied simply, "Yet why you would be here in Forks is any guess as good as mine?" Jonathan pressed his lips tight as this, his eyes moving from Carlisle's to his young daughter.

"Ah our reason for our sudden arrival here in Forks would be... her," Jonathan replied honestly, gesturing a hand towards his unconscious daughter. "I am rather curious of what happened though and how you managed to do this to her,"

"It would be my doing if you are looking for answers," I replied, knowing very well he was aiming his curiosity at me. The young boy raised a curious eyebrow at me, a rather delighted smile forming on his face. Two words to describe him right now; completely _irresistible_. Which was much to my embarrassment when Edward coughed rather loudly to cover a laugh he had let out, I glared at him.

"I am curious though," Edward began, throwing a playful smile at me, Bella seemed to notice the connection and raised a curious eyebrow at me while Edward continued; I shrugged at her in response. "What is the young gentleman's name behind you? You seemed to miss his introduction," Edward continued, polite as ever. Jonathan smiled at Edward's sudden interest and stepped ahead to reveal the boy to the rest of the family. There I saw he wasn't wearing a black trench coat like Jonathan; he looked a lot more casual, even though his style of clothing would what I would call exquisite. His handsome face framed by his wild reddish –brown hair, on his left I saw something shimmer in the light, and saw a silver earring, with a cross dangling gently. A white collar long sleeved shirt, his sleeves roughly rolled up above his elbows, the rest of his shirt loosely untucked, hanging over his long dark blue denim jeans that hugged his legs. Hiding under his just-right-length jeans were some rather leather buckle shoes. Everything about him was casual, from his clothes to the casual facial expression her wore. He had me mesmerised, it wasn't until he turned to look at me did I see his eyes widen a little. I stared back at him, trying to figure out his facial expression. It was a cross between surprise and longing. The longing I had expected as he had shown me that before. His lips tightened as Jonathan gestured to him to introduce himself. When he said nothing, having continued to stare at me, Jonathan sighed, indicating he was going to do it himself.

"This is my adopted son, Rhys Xavier Salvador. He's in fact my only son. He came along side me to look for Sora," Jonathan explained.

"How does having young Master Salvador with you help in bringing her back home?" I asked mockingly, the reason she was here was all too obvious, yet I wanted to know the relationship between the two, having thought of this quickly didn't hide it from Edward who coughed again to hide a chuckle. Jonathan seemed to be taking a liking to my snappy attitude as he turned his full attention to me.

"It seems, Young Miss, that he is the only one who can control her properly," Jonathan replied darkly, his eyes flickering from her to me, "It seems she doesn't like you very much and I'd like to know why,"

"Your guess is as good as mine Jonathan,"

"You never did tell me your name, young miss," Jonathan carefully.

"Madison Jordan Taylor," I recited, noticing Rhys mouthing my name in exact sync to when I said it, my eyes never left his. How did he know my name? Could he read minds like Edward? Or was there something more to this boy than meets the eye?

"Are you one of the Cullens?" Jonathan asked, it seemed he was now gathering information about me.

"No, I was found by them only today,"

"How old are you?"

"She's 17," a young male's voice answered for him, echoing slightly through the entire room. I turned to look at the owner of the voice, to find no other than the mysterious Rhys. I didn't know whether to feel flattered by him knowing my age or rather alarmed. "Just graduated from high school I believe," he continued simply, walking casually towards me with his hands in his pockets. All eyes were on him as he continued to walk towards me, finally stopping a good five metres away from me. "Am I correct Miss. Taylor?" he asked giving me a mocking smile that would definitely blow me off my feet if I were human. The very presence of him startled me though, I definitely knew him from somewhere.

"Yes you are Master Salvador," I replied curtly, playing along with his game, "Anything else you know about me?" I added he smiled shortly at me, knowing very well I was testing him; he seemed to like my challenge.

"If you wish it," He simply answered, cocking his head sideways at me with a 'know-it-all' grin on his face.

"Shoot," I said, my voice turning cold. In the next few seconds he had formed a long shard of ice, sharp as a knife yet as long and thick as a javelin pole. He threw it at me with such force and speed, I was lucky I had my heightened sense, I moved my head slightly to my right and destroyed his ice javelin into tiny particles which turned into droplets from the friction of my hand, all in one slice that I would have thought to cut it merely in half. Yet there it lay, in a million pieces on the floor, melting into droplets of water.

"RHYS!" Jonathan bellowed, clearly embarrassed and shocked at his son's behaviour.

"She said shoot, I didn't think for a second she meant the information I knew about her," Rhys replied shrugging with the mocking smile still on his face. He looked at me, quickly; somewhat delighted he seemed to have accomplished something. He glanced quickly at my hand and then back at my face. I looked down at my hand to find the water evaporating on my hand; I didn't feel any heat though. I was puzzled and looked up at him in the same way.

"Looks like I don't know everything," he merely added, watching me look at my hand closely.

"Then what do you know about me then?" I asked, ignoring the water that continued to evaporate on my hand.

"You were crowned the prom queen at the senior prom with your crush since middle school and prom king, Jackson Moore. You were one of the few students with the highest marks in senior year and liked nothing more than to read a good book when it rained during lunch hour," I didn't care if my jaw dropped, if I were to think about the very things he said, I personally wouldn't say no to reading a good book if it rained, I wouldn't say I was dumb when it came to my academic pathway. I didn't know whether he was making a mockery out of me in terms of being prom queen though. "Am I correct?" He asked.

"I have a question for you Master Salvador,"

"Call me Xavier,"

"Why not Rhys?"

"Call me Xavier only if you wish to keep up with this proper addressing. Its Rhys if you want to talk casually," he answered, sticking out his tongue like a little child.

"Rhys it is then," I muttered not bothering to change my tone, Rhys frowned.

"What is it that you want from me?" he whispering, his eyes twinkling with curiosity, enough to make me dizzy.

"My past," I whispered back, a cloak of wanting and desire coming over me. Rhys could see that, his eyes flickering. He sighed.

"I do not know all about you, but of the you I knew in the senior year of high school we shared together,"

"You went to high school with me?"

"I was following a scent for odd some reason couldn't resist. When I found out it was you, I realised you were out of my reach,"

"Why?"

"That is for me to know and you to never find out," Rhys replied knowingly. His tone had turned from a playful puppy to a fully grown man with authority.

"Do I not deserve the right to know if who I was before I became what I am now?" I asked in English far older than my actual age.

"Do you mean the person you were before you were transformed? The small period of time before you were transformed or the person I knew since the beginning?" I had no idea what he meant by the beginning but I was reluctant to let him go so easily. He was playing with my words.

"Both..." I whispered, not wanting to play games any more. Rhys sighed heavily; he looked straight into my eyes again, searching for something unknown to me.

"Son?" Jonathan called, Rhys turned to look at his father, "Perhaps you do owe her the explanation of why she is what she is now?" My eyes flickered from the father to the son, making up my own conclusion from their bitter tension.

"Let me guess," I began, placing my hands on my hips and tightening my lips, "It was you who turned me into a vampire?" I asked mockingly, my lips in a thin straight line.

"I'd prefer you didn't tighten your lips like that. I much preferred it when you would let them sit in their perfect shape," Rhys said ignoring my statement. He sounded like he knew me so well, yet I didn't even know as much as a minute of my past.

"Well?" I retorted, ignoring his statement in return.

"Yes?"

"Yes as in you did turn me or yes you are going to answer me properly?"

"Answer you as in?"

"Did you turn me into a vampire?"

"No..."

"Then why does your own father believe you owe me an explanation?"

"Well in some ways I do, in others I don't,"

"Enough with the riddles! Did you turn me..." I never finished, for all our attention was directed to the now awakened Sora. Rhys seemed to have noticed her gaze on him, full of hatred and hurt.

"I would never turn you into a vampire. Not in my lifetime. You should never have an association with me to begin with. Yet some others..." he looked at Sora when he said this, "deemed that you were better off dead," His eyes flickered a murderous intent towards Sora, making her cower under his stare.

"So if you didn't?"

"She did," Rhys said, nodding towards Sora. I now understood why she had attacked me. She must have found my scent once more and longed to finish the job, regardless if was a vampire or not. "Little did she know that you would be given a special skill that could kill her almost instantly," Rhys said, giving me a small smile.

"Excuse me?"

"Not everyone is able to dissolve my ice beams into droplets of water within seconds,"

"You've lost me,"

"Maybe I should explain this?" Edward's voice piped in, he seemed just as interested as Rhys. Carlisle and Jonathan both nodded at him to explain. "Madison do you know exactly what you did?" I thought for a few minutes, recounting what happened, and then I remembered the evaporating water on my hand.

"No," I replied shortly, not fully understanding anything.

"When a vampire is uh... born into this life there is the chance of carrying a special talent or skill along from their human form. Every human has a specialty at first, which is not as enhanced as us considering the huge differences between vampires and humans. Should that special talent surface through the transformation, you are a talented vampire. With an ability to do wondrous things," I understood then, whatever I could do, it wasn't something natural, and it wasn't something a normal human was capable of.

"Much like your ability to read my mind?" I asked, hoping he could confirm my understanding, Edward smiled.

"Yes," Edward replied, "I can see you being one of the top students with that intelligent mind," he concluded, his eyes twinkling with amusement. The rest of the family seemed to be rather content with the amount of information they had learnt about me, despite me not being the main source. I looked at Rhys, who was still looking at me with his mocking smile. his hazel eyes searching me carefully.

"I think its best we take our leave. We have well worn out our welcome. Plus I have to make sure this uncontrollable daughter of mine comes home with us," Jonathan said loudly, clearing his throat and breaking the connection between our stare.

"Why do you still suggest that she be my wife when I refuse to even look at her in such a way?" Rhys asked dully, Jonathan sighed.

"If you only you knew how impossible it would be to life your life as a youth without someone to share it with,"

"You are not my age,"

"I was once and during that time I had a beautiful wife,"

"What happened to her?" I asked, inviting myself into their debate, Jonathan looked at me with eyes full of sorrow.

"She was killed by a vampire," Jonathan replied, not looking at me. I gasped; the worst that could happen would be just that, besides her leaving him by committing suicide.

"Then how...?" I trailed off.

"I became one because that very vampire, who craved for her blood like a metal to a magnet, bit me as well. Not enough to kill me, but to live with that very memory of her dying in my arms,"

"How is it that you remember your past yet I hardly remember anything at all?"

"Most likely you were unconscious when you were turned," Jonathan replied simply, his eyes turning from lively to cold. "If only I could erase my mind like I could do to others," Jonathan sighed to himself shaking his head. "Let's go Sora, let her live, it's for your own good,"

"I refuse to let this girl live! She has ruined everything for me!" Sora shrieked as Jonathan picked her up and put her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"We will have your windows replaced, good as new Carlisle. My apologies again,"

"No need to do so. We'll be fine," Carlisle said encouragingly, glancing quickly at me. I knew why, because I was still confused as to how Rhys knew me at all. The first time he looked at me wasn't just longing in his eyes, I thought carefully back to when he looked at me closely. To me it felt like he wanted me to recognise him, like me not knowing anything of my past whatsoever hurt him. Was that the reason for his mind games? To test me as to whether I really remembered him? I could always ask Edward what he was thinking but then what if I didn't want to know what he was thinking. What if what I was thinking was the complete opposite to the way he was acting? Or was I just making an excuse to see him again? Hoping I would not disappoint him the next time?

"Son, let's go. We've caused enough disturbances already," Jonathan ushered Rhys. Rhys not taking his eyes off me, nodded in agreement. He began to walk away from me when I caught up quickly to him, grabbing his wrist lightly. I kept my eyes on the floor to hide the emotions flowing through my body; even I didn't know what I was doing right now. Rhys instantly stopped, and turned his head to look at me. I breathed (even though I technically didn't need to breathe) and then let my eyes look into his. It was right there and then I felt the desire to kiss him. Like something was all too familiar to too me. Some form of electricity was surging through my skin at the touch if his, I was stunned by it all. His hazel eyes searching me again.

"Let me guess," He murmured, "You have questions and I have the answers?"

"Yes," I whispered, breathless as I was, I had still managed to respond. He eyes revealed everything to me. I could tell he was pondering whether to give in to my request or not. He pulled his wrist away from my grasp; I let it slip through my fingers, not wanting the warmth from the surging electricity to leave with him, which it did.

"I'm not sure in whether that is such a good idea Madison," he whispered, placing both his hands on my face carefully, I closed my eyes slowly, hoping a memory would come back to me while he did this. Nothing happened; I heard his sigh thoughtfully and then opened my eyes again. "Learning the past won't do much for you now. You are what you have become; you have to accept it,"

"My wanting to learn the past is not so that I will try to regain my previous life Rhys," I said, still whispering, "I want to learn of my past to fill myself of this empty mind. I want to learn why you play such a huge role in any of this," I placed both my hands on top of his on my face and then pushed them away, back towards him. Rhys seemed surprised at my response as he said nothing; all he did was dash back to his father's side backwards with incredible speed, still staring at me with remorse shining in his eyes. I stayed rooted to my spot as I watched Rhys open the door for Jonathan who was carrying a screaming Sora out the Cullens' household, the winter wind again blowing snowflakes into the house. I couldn't hear anything but the gentle wind blowing into the room, on Rhys' face. I watched Rhys as he glanced back at me one last time before the brightness of the snow outside engulfed him completely and the sound of the large wooden door closing behind him.

"Madison?" a soft female voice called me from behind, I felt a pair of hands rest themselves on both of my shoulders. "Are you all right?" I turned to see Esme looking innocently at me, worry plastered across her face. I blinked couple of times and looked towards the shattered windows which Sora had come through unexpectedly. "Madison dear?" Esme's voice rung through my ears again.

"I-I don't know," I replied stuttered a bit from the shock of Rhys' exit. I was shocked at how much Rhys' exit from the Cullens' residence had affected me. I had only met him once as far as I was concerned yet him leaving affected me like I had known him for years and he was leaving me for good. The emotion didn't sit too well on me and I suddenly found myself calm. The first person I looked at was Jasper, as if the calmness in the room was coming from him.

"Don't worry dear. Jasper has the gift of controlling the emotions in the room. That's probably why you are feeling a little calmer than before," Esme explained gently. I found it remarkable how Esme always spoke in a gentle voice.

"I see," was all I could say.

"You'll see him again," Alice said with a wink, rubbing my arm.

"Let's not give her ideas ok?" Edward said, very much like a father-figure in my opinion.

"Give me one answer Edward, I only want one," I asked, moving from Esme's grasp, now standing in front of Edward.

"What is it? Of the million questions you have in your head?" Edward asked gently, knowing in a way that whichever question he answered, it would hurt me in some way.

"He wanted me to figure out who he was to me didn't he?" I asked, marking this question as my top priority. I watched Edward's face turn from serious to worry, his facial expression seemed to answer my question but I didn't want to play mind games this time.

"Just give her your answer already Edward," Bella urged him impatiently.

"It's not that simple, there's a million ways I could answer that question. Having listened to his thoughts the entire time he was here," Edward threw back at her, rather annoyed.

"Yes or no?" I asked, making it simpler for him, Edward swallowed and then gave me my answer.

"Yes," I knew Edward regretted answering, I personally felt like I was going to cry, he knew very well. Jasper, having now learnt of his gift, knew very well how I was feeling.

"Thank you," I replied, turning around and taking my leave through the very doors that Rhys went through.


	4. Chpt 3: In His Daughter's Eyes

**3. In His Daughter's Eyes**

I balanced carefully on a log, like a kid balancing carefully on a brick ledge; playful. My thoughts playing in and out of my head. For one, in my past time as human I might have been secretly infatuated by Master Rhys Xavier Salvador. His name was exotic enough for me fall head over heels for him. His certain fashion style was also something of my interest; his voice was the immediate sound of perfection. Yet that wasn't what bothered me so much about it. I reached the end of the log and then sat carefully on it, not wanting to dirty my clothes. They were tattered enough from my rush through the woods. I didn't want to randomly run from the Cullens' welcoming hospitality, but something deep down inside told me to run. Perhaps after Rhys even though he already had a five to ten minute head start. He was probably faster than me as well, since he looked light and speedy the last time I saw him. I sat there deep in thought, I didn't realise I had company. Edward did mention that there were so many ways he could answer my question, yet silly me decided for a 'yes' or a 'no' for an answer. But then again I guessed if he gave me his answer in a sentence, then I would be pressing on for more information, on what he meant and how he reached that conclusion. That would be asking more than one question, considering I requested one question to be answered. Argh, the thought of Rhys drove me insane. I wanted to know my past, I wanted to know why he had such a great impact on me! This was so unfair!

"Not everything is unfair you know," a velvet voice said, answering my thoughts. I sighed and patted the space on the log right next to me.

"Glad to be of your presence Edward. What do I owe the pleasure?" I responded, not showing any sign of letting him get comfortable.

"Do you really want to be spending your lifetime wandering around the forest trying to remember your past?" Edward questioned, cocking his head sideways like a curious puppy. I personally hated it when Rhys did it back at the Cullens' residence, as it pressured me to answer truthfully, Edward wasn't helping in erasing my thoughts of him, and so I frowned at him in disbelief. "I'll take that as a no and yes-I-would-like-your-company-Edward?" Edward asked, making himself clear he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"What's bothering you so much that you followed me?"

"So you heard me behind you then?"

"Not really. I just had a hunch you'd be sent to follow me. If not by Carlisle or Bella, by Esme at least,"

"Very true," He agreed thoughtfully, "You seem to grasp each and every one of my family's characteristics easily,"

"Esme already gave me the impression she's the motherly type. Jasper probably the more emotionally aware and very observant-type. Bella the headstrong and potential stubborn-type. Rosalie the radiant beauty with no interest in anything but a mirror-type. Emmett with heaps of brute strength but the personality of a playful child-type. Renesmee the intelligent and somewhat rebellious-type. Edward the know-it-all. Carlisle the wise and calm leader. This leaves me to Jacob the werewolf,"

"You knew he was a werewolf," Edward was rather bewildered at how I knew.

"His structure is not that of a normal boy his age nor the structure of a vampire. I could only take it from the smell that made me feel liking choking that I assumed he was one,"

"Is that all?"

"No, common sense that werewolves and vampires wouldn't generally get along from the previous myths and common sense,"

"So it seems you remember some small details of your past but not enough to satisfy you?"

"You could say it's like that. The only reason I know is that I got my mother's eyes is because I vaguely remember I had inherited my green eyes from my mother,"

"And you remember your name clearly,"

"Someone was calling out to me, not using my full name but saying 'Madison' over and over again. Like they were in pain or were trying to save. To wake me up,"

"Your memory is better than what you give it credit for,"

"How so?" At this Edward jumped up from the log and landed gracefully and quietly on the firm mossy ground without slipping.

"Well for starters. You seemed rather shocked how Rhys mentioned you were the type to read books when it rained and you were one of the few higher scoring students in your senior year," he paused waiting for me to say something, when he saw he had my full attention he kept going, "Any one would be keen on reading books during the rain and quite a number of students could pass as being one of the few top grading students in the year level. Yet there you stood, your jaw about to drop open the moment those words escaped his mouth. Like they were all true and were close to home,"

"I don't quite follow you on this one,"

"Let me rephrase it then. You've lost your favourite necklace, and no matter how many places you've looked in and out, day in and day out, you still haven't found it. Yet you still remember what it looks like, despite having not seen it for a while, and you haven't completely forgotten about it, you still know its there,"

"I see,"

"Or you could put it this way. You are trying to recite one of your favourite poems and you suddenly forget one of the lines. You know you know it very well yet you struggle to remember the exact words. You can only remember words associated with that one sentence,"

"Ok Edward. I get the point now," I muttered, soaking in every word Edward had said to me.

"I think you'd be better off with our family or the mean time until you learn some new things.

"New things? What do I need to learn?"

"Well how to live as a vampire for starters. There are some things you need to be aware of before you go wandering off on your own like this. Otherwise you'll put yourself and our entire family in danger. Something that isn't always good news,"

"Why do I get the feeling your family is known for getting into trouble?"

"Yes we have previously," Edward admitted with a grimace, "But we've gotten through just fine and life is going well. Renesmee is going to school with the young teenagers around her and doing well in school mind you,"

"What year is she currently studying?"

"Well although she looks like a 14 year old we figured high school was better for her. Considering how intelligent she is and her growth rate,"

"Which year?" I repeated, pushing Edward on the edge.

"Well she's in her sophomore year,"

"Oh that's not too bad. I was thinking along the lines of junior or senior for a moment there,"

"Oh most definitely not, I have a strong urge to not let her graduate should she be put in junior or senior year any time soon. She has enough boys chasing after her already,"

"Well you should feel a little flattered that your daughter seems to catch the neighbourhood boys' eyes," I stated reassuringly, a clever smile forming on my face.

"Yes but its hard enough keeping Jacob away from ripping them to shreds," Edward shot back through gritted teeth.

"So Renesmee and Jacob are an item then?" I asked, playing with his words; much like Rhys had done to me.

"I would personally rather have him as her chosen one than any other boy in this neighbourhood," Edward replied, clearly avoiding giving me a straight answer.

"I see. So the impossible has been made?"

"In what way would you mean that by?"

"Well in many stories, werewolves and vampires have been mortal enemies since the beginning of their existence. It only seems that now is the time that hate finally ceases to exist,"

"You may have a point in that but I do not like it that much in my own right and knowledge,"

"Because you are her father?"

"That's part of my reasoning,"

"I see,"

"Enough about my judgement on my daughter's love life," Edward snapped quickly, "This is about you coming home to my father's keep. You need to learn things properly otherwise you will get out of hand,"

"I can't guarantee anything though,"

"I wouldn't expect you to, but I am very sure you'll be just as a good vampire as my wife was when I turned her,"

"How so?"

"Well you can see how tame she is. She's only been a vampire for less than a decade. It took me almost triple the amount of time to be finally tame by Carlisle. To see his way of living as an alternative instead of killing innocents," Edward explained truthfully, I shuddered at the thought of Edward killing random people on the street; he seemed to read my thoughts because he was now standing in front of me, while I remained on my perch on the log. "Well?" he asked finally.

"I'll try my best," I murmured. And with that we headed back to the Cullens' main house. The first thing that happened the moment I entered through the front door was Esme's loving arms wrapping themselves around me.

"Oh thank goodness you are safe. I've presuming you'd want to see your room?" Esme asked with gentle care.

"My-My room?" I asked rather confused.

"Oh yes, well Alice decorated it, hoping it would be much to your taste," Esme replied simply, now escorting up the stairs. We walked straight down the hallway, turned left and then Esme knocked lightly on the first door to our right.

"Come in!" Alice's chime like voice rung from behind the door. Esme opened the door excitedly and then revealed to me my new bedroom. An entire wall was made out of windows showing be a beautiful view of the forest, spreading out for miles to see. Just a bit to my left I could see a small cottage in the clearing.

"That would be Edward, Bella and Renesmee's cottage over there. I decorated that one myself," Esme explained, having followed my gaze. There were two beautiful beige leather couches facing each other with a small mahogany coffee table sitting between them. The wall direction opposite the doorway from where we stood was an entire wall of shelving. Within those shelves were hundreds of novels, waiting to be read. This excited me more as I had been dying to read a decent book, having learnt of my love for reading.

"I didn't know what you were like exactly but from what that Salvador boy mentioned, this seemed to be a perfect concept," Alice described with eagerness. I didn't know what to say but a part of me knew I was going to love sitting in this room. I took a couple of steps in, with Alice jumping out of the room with Esme to let me familiarise myself with my new sanctuary. I sat on the couch, wanting to know the feeling of tiredness yet I felt nothing. I tried closing my eyes yet I felt nothing, I sighed and walked to my library of novels, all sorted alphabetically by title. I pulled out the first book on the highest shelf, walked over to my leather couch, got myself comfortable and then began reading, not even bothering to read the blurb or the title, I would do so later. The next thing I remembered, I had finished the book within a couple of hours, my super eyesight enabling me to briefly rest my eyes on a paragraph within seconds. I had a strong feeling I would be finished with the books around about twice over with my never-ending days. I heard a faint knock on my door, followed by the door being opened slowly.

"Come on in," I invited warmly, having found my centre peace. I didn't look up to who it was until they had made themself comfortable on the leather couch opposite me; Renesmee.

"I'm not disturbing you am I?" she asked, becoming aware I was reading when she entered.

"Not at all. I enjoy the company of others a lot more than the fictional ones I read about," I replied with a warm smile, watching relief wash over Renesmee's face after saying so.

"Although you could say we can be turned into fictional characters as well," Renesmee said pursing her lips. I studied Renesmee's face carefully, now that I was somewhat closer to her in distance. She shared the physical likenesses of both her mother and father. A beautiful mix I must add, then it would only make sense considering each parent possessed great beauty individually. Her beautiful golden eyes, her pale skin, her long reddish curls sitting nicely just past her elbows. Her physique would be every boy's dream just to catch a glance of as she looked like a supermodel, much like her mother and her aunties.

"Do you like it here?" Renesmee asked me, catching me off guard.

"Of course I do!" I answered, "What would make you think otherwise?" I asked in return, wondering where she was coming from and the direction she was taking with this conversation.

"Well. I don't know. Most vampires come and visit from time to time. Yet they don't stay longer than a week or two here," Renesmee answered simply, I remained silent, having seen her eyes. They were screaming her loneliness to me. Despite having her family here, she was lonely, she longed to have someone there whom she could confide in. It didn't help that her father could read her thoughts as well. I had the strongest urge to hug her but I held back, not really thinking it was appropriate at the time. What if I did leave suddenly due to unexplainable circumstances? What if something happened to me that stopped me from returning to her back to the Cullen's warm home? Either way would hurt her tremendously.

"Renesmee, I can't promise I'll be here long. But by the looks of how Alice has decorated this room, it seems she can see I'm not going anywhere any time soon," I pointed out with a smile, waving a hand in a circle emphasising the decor of the room; this seemed to relieve Renesmee a bit.

"How are you able to keep yourself so content when I know you are dying to figure out your past?"

"Well it's not something I would agree to in terms of just sitting here casually reading a book when I could be digging," I started, placing my now finished book on the coffee table and crossing my legs underneath me on the couch. "I guess a part of me feels that running into it head on is not the best way of approaching it. Something in my past could have happened that had led me to losing my memory completely. Something so drastic, my mind may not want to remember. Who knows?"

"I had a strong feeling the answers you are talking about remain with that Rhys boy,"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, when we rescued you from the lake near grandpa's house, you were fully alert and tried to keep a fair distance away from us. Like we were complete strangers to you, which is probably just about right," Renesmee described, "But then that wild girl attacked you, you anticipated like it was an everyday occurrence, when you are just a newborn vampire. That man and boy shows up randomly to collect that wild girl and you suddenly make a connection with the boy. You claim you have never met him before yet your body language, tone and language when speaking to him is a lot closer to home to when you speak with us. Like you are more comfortable with him more than anyone else right now. You're dependent of him," I let Renesmee's words sink in. She did seem to have a point, upon introducing myself to the Cullens, I was distant and rather alert, yet upon making eye contact with Rhys, I was calm as ever, as if his presence was just so familiar to me. "He seems to be holding the keys to your past. And I know you want to find him again, to ask him questions and gain answers in return," she continued, summarising with my main goal in life for the mean time. Until I figured out who I was in the past, I had no reason to stay in this world. A still silence rung clear between us, as I sat there thinking through what she had said. For one, Edward was right in saying her intelligence was beyond her physical age.

"I'm curious though," Renesmee began again, speaking very much like her father, "Do you really want to find out who you are in your past? Or do you want to find out who you were to him in your past?" she stumped me there; I had no idea myself to whether I really wanted to know the importance of my existence or the importance of my existence to _him_.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see won't we?"

"I suppose so," silence creep up on us again, neither one daring to break it. I glanced quickly to the clock and then smiled faintly, utterly confusing Renesmee.

"Looks like you might be heading home now," I told Renesmee, by the confused look on her face, she clearly didn't understand what I meant, "Come in Edward," at that instant, Edward was already sitting on the couch next to Renesmee. For some odd reason, Renesmee looked rather concerned, perhaps concerned that her father had been listening in on the conversation. I could tell that she hated the fact he could read minds, no doubt Edward was feeling the same way in hearing her thoughts.

"Heading home now daddy?" Renesmee asked, I found it adorable how she called Edward 'daddy' even though they didn't look more than four years apart by age; physically.

"Not really. Alice apparently has a dress she wants you to try on, so she sent me to get you,"

"I'm presuming you read either one of our thoughts to find where I was?"

"No not really. I could only guess," Edward replied with a small smile, Renesmee rolled her eyes. I could see a little awkwardness between the two. It made me wonder whether Edward had heard or seen anything that a father was not meant to be seeing. Edward noticed my train of thought and glanced at me sideways, an eyebrow raised, I smiled cunningly back at him.

"Very well, if this is your excuse in being able to talk to Madison then you've got me there," Renesmee said jumping off the couching and making her way to Alice's room.

"Does she ever get any privacy with you having that gift of reading minds Edward?" I asked the moment she left, still looking at my bedroom door, slightly ajar.

"I try to. It's not like I don't try. No father should have to go through the experience of reading through his daughter's thoughts. That's for sure," Edward said, getting comfortable on the couch, legs crossed the 'manly' way and with his right upper arm resting casually on the top of the couch.

"Although you gift may be rather useful, it must be a curse as well,"

"Yes, luckily for my wife, her gift is much like a shield so no one is able to harm her, mentally. It only makes me wish that my daughter had the shield instead of my wife," Edward admitted, glancing quickly at place in which Renesmee once sat and my bedroom door. Through his distracted glances of the objects within my room, I took the opportunity to put my book back in its place in the shelf. "Let me ask you this and you must answer with all the honesty you possess," Edward started, I turned around to look at him, not too sure what to make of his sudden request. Edward took this as a 'yes', so continued, "What was the emotion in my daughter's eyes when she first came into your room?" I blinked a couple of times, not really understanding how this was important yet I thought hard of when I first glanced at her, when she was sitting on the couch. When she was talking to me, then it came to me slowly, like a soft chill. All I could see was loneliness and I knew very well Edward was reading my mind as I saw this image; he winced a little but then looked at me plainly as if waiting for an answer he already knew.

"Why do you wait for an answer when you can see it already?" I asked, still wondering why he was waiting for a verbal answer.

"Because although I can see it, it's how you would describe it that matters to me,"

"This is strongly showing me your concern for her,"

"Yes but do you understand why though?"

"Why?" Edward frowned when I asked, like I had missed something obvious.

"Her life in the lifestyle we have, it's not of a normal teenager. She wasn't created into this like we were. She was _born_ into this. Having no, what we call, choice but to accept the life she is given. She can't go out as much especially when it's sunny. She's finding it hard to connect with others with the secret, our secret, she has to keep. It's not something I myself would chose, yet alone for my own daughter," I thought carefully of Edward's concerned portrayal of Renesmee's life. I couldn't imagine how much pain it would cause her. Even I was able to live a normal human life, even though I couldn't remember it.

"Can you see why she feels some connection with you?" Edward asked me.

"Yes," I breathed.

"Can you see why if might be beneficial to stay around here for a while then?"

"Yes,"

"Will you do me this one favour?"

"What is it?"

"Stay with her for as long as you can,"

"To keep her sane or to protect her?"

"Both,"

"I'll try my best,"

"I know you will," I could hear the clock on the wall ticking as time went by, I looked up at the clock to see it was already four in the morning, I felt weird not feeling any ounce of sleepiness; sleep seemed to be a lifetime I will never be able to encounter again. Edward seemed to have taken a liking to the way Alice had done my room, he looked almost surprised.

"I'll leave you to your library of books Alice has gladly went and collected for you," Edward said, wrapping up our conversation, I nodded in response. The moment Edward left I realised there were a lot of things I had weighted myself down with upon being rescued by the Cullens. I made a mental list, hoping I would remember until my eternity finally reached its bitter end.

Learn the ways of the Cullens' household, in regards to diet, reputation and structure. Trust seemed to be the most important thing as well as the others.

To investigate the few bits and pieces of my forgotten past. Enough to fulfil my reason of existence and to discover random traits that I would call the pieces of my personality. To find out where I came from.

Come into contact with Master Rhys Xavier Salvador and find out what relationship we might have had in the past. It was clear it was more than just acquaintances.

Remain with Renesmee for as long as I live.

This was a list that was going to be the end of me, but I knew it would be worth it in the long run. With the entire Cullen family by my side, I had a feeling it wouldn't feel like work to keep this list up and running. Not unless there was something out there that would want to disrupt my process. As I picked up another book from my wall full of books, I smiled to myself at how lucky I was, to be found by them instead of a fearful nomad. Who knows how I would have turned out.


	5. Chpt 4: More to Think About

**4. More to Think About**

I didn't realise I hadn't stopped reading to what seemed like my fifteenth book until I heard the sound of a piano being played downstairs. It was soft, subtle and beautiful. I closed my book, carefully putting my bookmark in the right page, even though I knew I would remember it from the top of my head, and headed down the hallway, following the beautiful music. I headed down the stairs slowly, to find Bella on the couch in the living room, with Edward playing gracefully on a large white grand piano. I had reached the bottom of the stairs and stood there, amazed at Edward's endless list of talents and the music he was playing. I didn't know the song but I felt compelled to listen to it until the end. Bella waved at me smiling, and having caught my attention, beckoning me to come and sit with her on the couch, her eyes shining with happiness. I accepted her warm invitation and was about to sit down next to her when Edward spoke, his playing going softer in volume.

"You like the piano?" Edward asked a little amusement in his tone.

"It seems that way," I answered, not really knowing how I should have answered the question.

"Do you know how to play?"

"No, I don't believe so,"

"I have a strange feeling you do,"

"What makes you say that?"

"Have you forgotten I can read minds?"

"But I don't believe I am thinking about playing the piano though. I was only thinking of listening with Bella here on the couch,"

"Hrrrmm? Interesting," Edward replied, having stopped playing completely. He twisted around on the bench-like piano seat, watching me delicately.

"How so Edward?" Bella asked her husband, noticing his curious concentration.

"I could have sworn I heard you in your mind, wanting to play the piano," Edward replied, not taking his eyes off me, Bella looked at me too. If I were still human, I would have surely blushed bright red. I definitely wasn't thinking of playing the piano and how could Edward be positive it was me thinking that?

"When I hear people's thoughts, their thoughts are projected to me by their voices. So if you were think of something random now, I would hear it and know it's you from your distinct voice," Edward put in plain words, I nodded having understood. But what I didn't understand was what he said I was thinking. I looked at Bella to see what she thought of it; she was as confused as I was so just shrugged.

"Maybe you should try playing the piano Madison. It wouldn't hurt," Bella suggested, winking at me with encouragement.

"Well, don't hiss at me if it turns ugly," I mumbled, heading for the piano instead of taking my destined seat next to Bella on the couch. Edward had already stood up and gesturing to the piano, like an usher politely showing you your seats; his playful grin appearing on his face having seen the disbelief on mine. I sat myself carefully down, pulling the seat forward considering I was shorter than Edward; I didn't think I needed all the leg room. My finger trailed the piano keys slightly, hoping that perhaps a memory of my past would jump up and guide me. Suddenly I felt a burning sensation in my finger tips; I pushed the key and instantly recognised it as middle C. I placed my right hand an octave higher and pressed C again, listening closely to the distinct sounds of each one. Bella and Edward must have thought I was just playing around with their hopes by now. Then a lullaby came into my head, it was soft and faint, as far as I knew, the pedal was what enabled a pianist to hold the beautiful sound of one note in the piano and enable you to play the others to blend them well together. How the hell did I know any of this to begin with? I pushed higher C again, pushing the pedal on my right for a brief period of time, suddenly, like I was a puppet, I began pushing white and black keys alike to the melody that played in my head before. It was slow and gentle, and sung beautifully in my ears. The notes echoed through the silent room, filling the room with a relaxed atmosphere. I was reaching the climax of the song when I suddenly stopped, completely forgetting the last part of the song.

"Are you going to finish it Madison?" Bella asked, clearly indicating that she wanted to hear more.

"I can't," I replied, I didn't notice the panic in my voice.

"How come? Are you ok?" by now both Bella and Edward were on either side of me on the piano, looking at me intensively.

"I was playing fine, much to my surprise; to me it feels like I'm imitating a memory my body probably remembers better than my mind. I felt like I knew this song so well, as if I had written it or someone had played it for me once or twice or a million times, yet when I tried to remember the ending, I couldn't. Very much like every time I was close to the ending, something interrupted." I described for them, not taking my eyes off the piano, my hands resting lightly on my lap. Bella put a comforting hand on my shoulder, I heard Edward sigh heavily.

"Don't worry. Memories don't always come back to you as a whole. Sometimes you just have to keep feeding your mind with things that will remind you. Then you'll be able to finish the song," she enlightened. Despite her lovely words, I couldn't help but feel anxious. What had come over me to play such a beautiful piece of music but not remember who played it in the past? What if I wasn't one who originally played it? What if I had heard someone playing it over and over again? What if someone gave this song to me as a present? All these questions streamed through my head, probably enough to Edward a headache for that matter.

"Well at least its confirmed that you do know how to play the piano," Edward summarised lightly, copping a slight shove from Bella.

"I-I need to take a walk," I just managed to say, getting up from the piano seat, Edward pushed me down again.

"What you need is to hunt," Edward said, nodding towards Bella. Bella then grabbed both my shoulders gently and squeezed them.

"Let's go Madison,"

"Don't tell me you aren't a bit thirsty? You haven't had anything whatsoever since you arrived here to live with us," Edward pointed out, poking me playfully.

"But I don't know how to…" I started, only to be cut off by Edward; naturally.

"Bella will teach you all the tricks of the trade," Edward cut in cheerfully.

"It will help you keep distracted as well," Bella added, finally convincing me to go. My answer was clear, I needed to clear my head, and what better way to clear my head than to satisfy my thirst.

Bella pointed towards the back door and started walking towards it, I followed, keen to keep my concentration set on what Bella was going to teach me. I could hear Edward's chuckle at my thoughts clearly as we bounded out to the woods. It seemed we were running for ages, most likely far away civilisation, from humans and the family. I could smell the beautiful fresh air, and just as I was about to breathe in a large amount a certain familiar scent stopped me in my tracks. Bella seemed to have noticed I stopped as she had quickly doubled back and stood right next to me wondering why I had stopped. I breathed in slowly this time, as if to convince myself that this scent was nearby, yet there was nothing I could see from more than a mile away. I crouched down low like a cat, ready to pounce. It didn't matter to me which direction it came from, I was ready for it, I heard dry leaves crack to my left and instantly snarled in that direction having turned my body around. Suddenly I heard a laugh which threw me off completely; there stood Jacob, grinning ear to ear at both Bella and myself. I stood up stiffly, not impressed by his grin, it seemed that he had seen something rather funny. I glanced quickly to Bella on my left, her hands on her hips now, completely unimpressed.

"You've got to hand it to her Bells. You didn't seem to notice my scent as well as she did and I was about 2-3 miles behind," Jacob said, grinning at Bella, Bella rolled her eyes.

"You could have gotten yourself killed Jake. Are you insane?"

"Well I'm friends with vampires, which is naturally against my own kind. I think I'm insane enough," Jacob replied smartly, still grinning, Bella snorted.

"Let me guess? Edward sent you?"

"No,"

"Then why the hell did you follow us?"

"I don't know. I'm curious about Madison,"

"How so?"

"Well for a new born vampire, as Edward has mentioned to be countless of times during your transformation, she's rather tame. She's like another version of you," Jacob explained, nodding his head in my direction without taking his eyes off Bella. I noticed there was a sudden change in tone and in language exchanged between the two. A little too comfortable to be just 'good' friends I thought. Jacob noticed I was still in a protective stance and snorted.

"No need to get mean with me little missy, I ain't any danger to you or Bella," Jacob reassured me, I wasn't convinced. It wasn't him that I was concerned about; it was the scent slowly and discreetly making its way in our direction, with no signs of stopping. Why did everything I didn't trust had to be heading in my direction, I growled louder this time, indicated to the other two something was coming. Bella was now fully aware that Jacob wasn't the receiver of my growl and soon readied herself for what was coming. It seemed my growl alerted who was coming, for I couldn't hear them approaching any closer, which meant they had either stopped or ran back quickly. I highly doubted the second option so I scanned the area, despite not picking up anything I kept my guard up, someone or something was following us. Jacob seemed to be scanning the area too, I had caught eye contact with me while I was scanning. From that one glimpse I knew he was being serious now, his dark brown eyes piercing and dangerous, I had also noticed he had put a protective hand in front of Bella, almost like a reflex. This proved to me that there was something more between them either in the past or present, but that wasn't my concern for the time being. After what seemed for hours, I heard a loud collision of something heavy or bulky and the ground. Only to find Jacob had plumped himself comfortable on the ground, obviously giving up the search for our followers. I watched him dully as he leaned back on a nearby tree and spread out his legs, he moved around a bit, as if to find a comfortable position while leaning against the tree. Bella rolled her eyes and she too tensed less, sensing there was no more danger around. She also saw this as an opportunity to teach me how to properly hunt my prey as she had come up to my side and began whispering in my ear.

"Close your eyes Madison" Bella instructed mystically sending chills through my body.

"Ok..." I mumbled, slowly closing my eyes.

"Listen," Bella continued, "What do you hear?"

I could have been a smartass about it and said everything, taking into fact that my senses were double or even triple to that of a normal human. But I listened carefully, the wind rustling the leaves in the branches from here on to a couple of miles. A couple of branches falling in different areas, the impact they made on the ground very clear, like they were happening right next to me. Suddenly I noticed a strong thudding noise, I didn't notice it until I recognised the calling of my dry throat. It was thudding steady, I could dance in rhythm to it, then I realised just what or who it belonged to; Jacob. It was his heart, beating steadily, teasing my thirst badly, I wanted so much just to leap and taste his blood. I opened my eyes at this; I did not want to hunt while he was around. Bella was still standing by my side, rather puzzled as I leant casually against the nearest tree, not taking my eyes off Jacob. I had Jacob's full attention now, he watched me as I stepped away from him and to my tree.

"Is something the matter Madison?" Bella asked.

"Should you really be here Jacob?" I asked, still eyeing him. Jacob looked rather surprised at my question.

"Why not?" Jacob asked defensively, getting up from his spot on the ground. He was at least a foot or two taller than me, yet I didn't cower at him towering over me.

"As far as I know, you are part human, part animal as it were. I'm meant to be hunting prey, that isn't part of the family," I answered, raising both eyebrows at him, Bella fidgeted at this.

"Maybe its best you head home Jacob," Bella suggested, placing a hand on his arm.

"What if I don't want to?" Jacob retorted childishly.

"Then enjoy having your all your blood sucked out of you. I'm pretty sure Renesmee will be pleasant about that?" Edward's stern tone rung in all our ears, he was standing on a large branch on the very tree I was leaning on. I couldn't help but be grateful that at least it wouldn't have to be only Bella to stop me if I couldn't control myself. I knew Bella was reliable, but my own fear of hurting her was far stronger than if I were to hurt Edward. I heard Edward clear his throat after my last train of thought, I chuckled. I quickly looked at Jacob, only to find that his stubborn facial expression had changed into anxiety, I was guessing he wasn't thinking of Renesmee. How much she would detest me if I were to lose control and kill her boyfriend, I wouldn't have clue, I didn't plan on ever hurting her.

"If you plan on courting my daughter at least make her your top priority, not your curiosity," Edward pointed out, having jumped down gracefully from the tree and landing in between Jacob and myself. Jacob seemed to be rather stirred by Edward's words so ripped off his clothes and phased, I was again grateful for Edward's presence as I didn't have to see Jacob naked. I saw that Bella had turned around as well, I caught her eye and we both giggled.

"You always ruin the fun," Bella whined.

"What fun? She was thinking of killing him for goodness sakes," Edward replied sternly, Bella sighed, even though it wasn't really necessary.

"Never mind Edward, never mind," Bella said stroking the side of his face lightly with her fingers. It was then I could feel it, deep down inside like something was missing. As much as I wanted to look away I couldn't, as if my body was hoping that I would remember something from my past from seeing the two together. Their intimacy struck me, like I had felt that before, Edward was pulling Bella in for a kiss, their faces close together, just as their lips were about to touch I heard it, that voice, "Madison, are you ok? Where have you bee..." then it had stopped; I wanted to hear the rest of what that voice was saying. But before I knew it I had turned around, with a massive crash of wood beside me, I didn't know why but I was hyperventilating, I didn't have to breathe as a vampire, yet my body seemed to be in shock. I was shaking madly and I didn't know why. I looked to my right to see what the massive crash of wood involved. It was the tree I was leaning against before; I had completely sliced through its thick tree trunk, I examined the cut I had made with my hand on the tree trunk, a clean cut; oh god. I didn't know what came over me, I turned to look at Edward and Bella, to see their expressions matching; confused and worried. Much like the first few days I had stayed with them. I figured I didn't need them to tell me I was crazy, but I knew how to hunt now that I had gotten used to my heightened senses, so I ran as fast as I could, far away from Edward and Bella to hunt by myself.

I couldn't hunt properly with a lot of things running through my mind, but I managed to satisfy my thirst with a couple of elk running around freely in the woods. That voice, that voice was so familiar yet so distant. Why was it always so soft? I didn't understand anything and I didn't want to talk to neither Edward nor Bella about what had just happened. It wasn't something out of the ordinary, testing out your new found strength upon learning you had become a vampire. But how did I become a vampire? I obviously wasn't born one, or I'd be like Renesmee. I wouldn't have any memories of my mother so that out ruled the idea of me being half vampire, half human. I just didn't know where to begin with, in terms of straightening out my thoughts. It was all too hard to sort through. Most of my previous happenings were much unrelated. My fascination for books, my quiet demeanour when approaching "would-be" prey, the piano playing and then the voice; it didn't make any bloody sense in my mind. I closed my eyes tight, clenching my fists and placing a fist on each of my two temples; still nothing. Considering I couldn't 'sleep-my-thoughts-away' like a human would, being a vampire, this was going to drive me to insanity. How did I know it would going to do this to me? Because I knew the only person who had the answers I wanted would never tell me and it wasn't Edward; Rhys Xavier Salvador.

How much I wanted to just open my eyes and see myself as a human, with little human problems to worry about rather than all this crap that was going through my head. This was just plain annoying. Maybe if I stayed out in the woods long enough or possibly near where the Cullens had found me, I would be able to retrace my steps and find out where I originally came from. It was worth a shot, considering the speed I could travel at. I sniffed the air, having made my decision, I knew exactly which direction I was meant to take, having sniffed my surroundings and looked in different directions. I knew where the Cullens house was, so it was no problem for me getting back to their house. I knew where I had left the lifeless forms of the elk I had bitten to satisfy my thirst. But there was another scent that startled me and it was very close by; Edward.

"Do you _have_ to follow me everywhere I go?" I asked him, rather annoyed. Edward, having realised I knew of his obvious presence leapt from where he was to a few metres beside me.

"Not really. I just happen to be the one person everyone seems to send when you go missing," Edward replied.

"Bella,"

"You seem to know the workings of my wife and Esme very well,"

"I try not to if you don't mind,"

"Going back to the lake won't help you in anything. I still remember your thoughts when we pulled you out of that lake. There was nothing at all that I know won't help you now,"

"Ever thought that perhaps my body might remember for me instead of my mind doing the work?"

"But what you are hoping of is that your mind will light up and remember everything before the day we found you,"

"Trying doesn't hurt Edward," I replied icily, Edward was rather taken back by my tone. It was like he didn't know me.

"At least take into consideration that there might be humans ice-skating there and the sight of you might alarm them."

"Why is that?"  
"Well from every vampire's first feeding experience, they aren't the most uh… elegant when they feed," Edward pointed out, I looked at him and saw he had his eyebrow raised and he was quickly looking from my clothes and then back to my eyes. I looked own on myself, seeing exactly what I had meant. I was all covered in mud and blood, not a mix I quite liked the look of. Very uncanny and unfashionable to meet a human's eye, I had to agree. I sighed as I turned around to face the direction in which lead back to the house, Edward followed my suit.

"Good vampire," he complimented, his tone very much like a person praising a yet-to-be-tamed puppy. I snarled at him and then began running as fast as I could, reaching the house before him. I opened the door of the house and quickly ran up to my room, carefully closing the door. I didn't feel like talking to any of the Cullens, knowing they were bound to ask me a million questions in regards to my behaviour today. I could feel my adrenalin racing through my veins, I had to do something that would calm me down, I felt like reading but reading straight away would just make it worse. So I paced the room a couple of times, vampire speed, not human. I wanted to get my thoughts into order. Yet they kept running back and forth from the beginning to now. A faint knock on my door brought me back to reality; I opened the door to find Jasper standing there.

"You seem like you have a lot on your mind?" Jasper asked, despite his voice being rather polite and inviting, that was easily overridden by his rather tense facial expression. His distance still told me we had much to learn of each other. I nodded and moved back for him to enter my room; I didn't bother closing the door, as far as I knew, there were no secrets in this family.

"Isn't Edward the only one who can read minds?" I asked, concentration clear on my face, I knew he could control the emotions of a person or an entire room of people, I didn't know he could read my mind as well.

"Edward _is_ the only one who can read minds, not unless you count Renesmee," Jasper responded, placing himself on the couch, I followed but sat on the couch opposite him.

"Then how are you able to tell I have a lot on my mind?"

"I could hear you pacing in your room but your anxiety is clear even from downstairs to me,"

"I see,"

"One's emotions can tell a great deal of things. They say body language delivers 80% of a message, leaving words only 20%," Jasper explained, getting comfortable on the couch. I guess I still had heaps to learn in relation to the Cullens. There were still things that I didn't understand about them. "So tell me. What has been annoying to the extent where you want to circle the entire house so fast it might light up in flames from the friction?" Jasper continued, raising an eyebrow at me. They seemed to do that a lot; raising their eyebrows when wanting their curiosity to be fed. It seemed this family were very keen on small pieces of information that might take up the endless hours they had in their eternal life.

"A lot of things that don't relate to each other whatsoever," I admitted, now sitting cross-legged on the couch.

"Care to expand on that?" this question led to me jumping into the bag and describing everything. The strange familiarity with Rhys, my gift with the piano, the voice in the woods whilst I was hunting with Bella, my body remembering things before my mind could even get close. It went on for what seemed to be a long time but I had the strongest feeling Jasper was just as interested in theses random happenings as I was, like he understood my burning desire to find out my past. I knew Edward would most likely be strongly against me finding out my past, this would either tip me off I should know something important or that he was just protecting me from looking back at a past I wouldn't want to remember. Even if I was a high school slut, a nerd or a sports fanatic, I couldn't care less, so long as I had a life that seemed bearable or normal for a human. I wanted to remember things from my past, what else would I look back on if I didn't have any memories? From my knowledge and understanding, humans would reminisce, remember funny memories of the past or a fond moment spent with someone special. These memories would then lull a human into a pleasant sleep. Sure vampires couldn't sleep but it'd be nice to just on the couch and back track a bit. The sound of Jasper clearing his throat clearly told me I had trailed off into my own little world, I looked back at him, instead of the usual seriousness in his face; playful curiosity.

"You really want to know what you were like in your past huh?" Jasper asked, stating the obvious.

"Yes, I really do,"

"Well I must agree with Edward on this that talking to him won't get you anywhere," he began, "Walking around aimlessly in the forest is most definitely not a bright idea either. What with everything that lurks in its depths," Jasper advised thoughtfully.

"Then what do you suppose I should do then?"

"Do nothing," Jasper answered shortly. This left me rather speechless. I had just explained everything to him in great detail, the way I felt at the given time, the thoughts running through my head... everything! I thought he was interested and here he was telling me, after everything I had told him, that I should do nothing? Ridiculous! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Jasper seemed to sense my flowing anger and disbelief with his advice, his eyes flickered and he smiled. "Honestly Madison what do you expect me to say? Go find your past? Go bug Edward until he gives in, which he won't, even at the request of his own wife,"

"He would go against Bella just to hide what he knows about me?"

"I'm not saying he would. But he could,"

"Why is everyone against me finding out my past?" I was getting a little raged by all this.

"It's not because we're fully against it. We just believe that some things are better left in the past, not to be brought up once more,"

"Edward put you up to this didn't he?"

"No, he did not Madison. I just happen to agree with both of your point of views in the situation in front of us. I agree that a person must have something to fall back on in regards to their upbringing, the people in their lives etc. But I cannot deny the idea that perhaps some things in the past are better left forgotten, never to be unearthed once more," the way he spoke somewhat annoyed me, it was very much like Edward. "None of us have the answers for you Madison. Even you know that,"

"But surely you have some methods of finding the answers I seek?"

"I'm sorry Madison but I don't," Jasper replied, he really did look rather apologetic this time; it was hard not to believe him now. "But I have a feeling a stranger might be able to answer you the way we'd like to,"  
"What do you mean?" Jasper looked plainly at me when I asked this. It was like I was asking a really stupid question.

"Let me rephrase," Jasper said, thinking quickly, he looked back up at me after a few seconds, "More like _he_ will give you the answers you want," Oh damn, he meant who I thought he meant. I frowned.

"All you're doing is pointing me in the direction that is going to be impossible to go down," I mumbled, knowing very well where he was concluding, Jasper smiled briefly.

"I know. But only you seem to think that's impossible,"

"Isn't it though?"

"Not really,"

"Why?"

"I don't think Sora attacking you was for no reason whatsoever. If you are really asking why," Jasper pointed out knowingly, his point sparked more questions in my head. Then I gasped, clearly there was more than I realised. My connection with Rhys was not just a random meeting here and there in high school. There was something more, which couldn't fit more perfectly with familiar feeling with Rhys. Rhys and Edward were hiding something that afternoon; they both knew the history between Rhys and me. This would probably unlock a lot more doors if I knew why Sora hated me so much to attack me.

"Do you really think that Rhys and I were more than what he led on before?" I asked, gasping at the new stream of thoughts flowing in and around the inside of my head. Jasper smiled and leant back casually on the couch, crossing his arms across his chest. He looked like he had accomplished something.

"There is a very large chance there was something between Rhys and yourself in the past that perhaps Rhys doesn't want you to remember. Whatever what for, I have no clue," Jasper shifted a little to get comfortable, his arms still crossed, "But it seemed to me that he wanted you to remember him. He was rather obvious in having caught your eye that day," I collapsed back on the couch, still thinking deeply, Jasper saw this as an opportunity to leave, having given me much to think about.

"Jasper?" I asked, just as he was about to walk through the door frame.

"Yes Madison?" Jasper answered delicately.

"Thank you," I managed to get out with a simple smile, I could feel my eyes twinkling as I said this, and I had a feeling that they were as Jasper's eyes twinkled at me with a small smile.

"The pleasure was all mine," He responded, closing the door behind him.


	6. Chpt 5: Not Her Scent, But Her Company

**5. Not Her Scent, But Her Company**

**Rhys**

Father threw Sora to the ground, growling at her when she struggled to get her ropes free. I sighed and then tugged at the loose end, not bothering to glare at her. I was sick of her attitude, her personality and her thirst to kill Madison. It was enough for me to kill her myself. But she was a sister to me, or so I thought anyway, I couldn't think to kill my own family; could I? Father was the first to belt at her, before I could say anything.

"HOW DARE YOU CHILD! HOW DARE YOU INVADE ANOTHER COVEN'S HOUSEHOLD AND ATTACK ONE OF THEIR OWN. HAVE YOU NO DIGNITY?" Father yelled, I watcher my sister cower at his voice. She was sure to receive harsh punishment. To Father, his image amongst other vampires was everything, he had enough shame in his life when he had announced that he would live off animal blood rather than hunt innocents. After watching his own wife die in his arms from being attacked by a vampire, having been bitten himself, he never wanted to inflict that kind of hurt on any one else, human or vampire alike. His loving wife was the only memory he had left from his human past, the rest was just finding his children, me being one of them. I understood why he was so angry though. The Cullens were known to share the same small belief in living off on animals instead of humans. Very few covens believed it was enough to satisfy the unbearable thirst for blood. I, for one, am thankful that I was discovered by Father. I didn't think that I, upon my transformation from human to vampire, had brought with me my moral and control. I would rather starve myself than be forced to hunt humans, the thought was already disgusting. I didn't realise that I had completely spaced out, not until I heard Sora belt back at Father, a mistake she would pay for.

"IF YOU HAD LET ME DO IT PROPERLY THE FIRST TIME, WE WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CULLENS AT ALL!" she yelled back, still cowering, knowing her anger was best not to answer to at a time like this. When Father was angry, he had enough motives to kill any one of us. Hence the reason we never went against his word. Not until now. Sora, even though he created her, was against the 'vegetarian' ways of our family. She believed that the animal blood made us weak as well as our beliefs. _'If ever we are attack by those who drink human, we will be definitely killed without even proving to be worthy of a fight,'_ she once said, which pushed Father to forcefully lock her god knows where. She was so far, that I couldn't even hear her screaming from miles away with my super hearing. I personally had no intention of making the man who saved my life, angry.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO KILL HER IN THE FIRST PLACE CHILD! YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME UPON THIS FAMILY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT MADE ME DECIDE TO HAVE YOU IN THIS CIRCLE!"

"SHE WAS TAKING AWAY FROM ME WHAT YOU HAD MADE ME FOR!" this was what set me off completely. I knew very well that Father had intentionally made Sora into what she was now, with the hope of her becoming what his wife was to her. But I never found her that attractive enough to be my companion, I always thought of her as a sister, like my other sister.

"YOU should not have attacked her to begin with," I came in sternly. Even though I didn't yell, I knew Sora would hear me. It was like her hearing was always in tune to my voice, regardless of the level of volume I used.

"What are you saying? I should have just left her to live as a human?" She asked me, I always found it fascinating how she would calm down almost immediately when talking to me.

"Yes. I would have preferred Madison to live on as a human, rather than stay frozen at the tender age of 18 as a vampire. You have done this upon yourself,"

"What do you mean? I don't understand,"

"Instead of getting rid of her, you have allowed her to remain beside you. If you think about it, you have made your own jealously worse. Now she'll be around for a lot longer than that of a normal human. And she'll always remain where she still is now… with me," I explained, carefully emphasising on the last two words. Although I preferred Madison when she was human, her beauty couldn't have radiated more upon receiving the mainly flawless gifts of a vampire. I noticed she had a small gift as well, having witnessed her deal with Sora and her display of power when I tested her. She never ceased to amaze me, with her talent, her beauty and most especially her personality. Nothing had changed from the human Madison I was used to, to the new immortal Madison who stood before me a couple of days ago. It had taken us a couple of days to travel from the Cullens' household to our humble mansion. A place I didn't really like coming home to, it was too exquisite for just four people to be living in. Sora started sobbing, even though we vampires could no longer cry, I didn't mean we didn't feel the emotion to make us cry. Father has seen I had calmed down Sora and took advantage of her calm to punish her.

"If ever you set foot in the Cullen's residence ever again. I will have no choice but to tie you up, and put you in daylight. The Volturi will definitely have something to say about that," Father warned. I was surprised Father was going to this length to punish Sora. Father looked at my surprised face and then I saw his reasoning. It had taken a while before Sora actually listened to Father's threats and obeyed his orders. She was a rather unruly vampire to begin with and there were times when I knew from his facial expression each time she caused trouble, that he regretted ever turning her into one of us. It seemed that he had reached his last straw of patience with her and the only thing he could use to get her to behave was to involve the Volturi; a group of sinister vampires whom he wished not to associate himself with ever in his eternal lifetime. I sighed heavily and decided to leave Sora to her own emotional breakdown. It was hard enough for me to believe that I was able to see Madison, alive for one, if you called becoming a vampire alive. As I made my way down the hall to the bottom of the stair case I noticed the grand piano Father had bought me for my birthday a couple of decades ago. Instead of going up the stairs and heading to my room like I had first intended on doing, I walked straight past the stairs and went straight to the grand piano. I opened the case and traced the smooth keys with my right hand, finally pushing what I knew was middle C. It had been a while since I had played the piano, I tried to remember when the last time was, and then her face came to mind. I frowned, having remembered the exact time I supposedly last played the piano.

"_You play the piano much?"_

"_I only know the basics,"_

"_So you can play then?"_

"_I guess so?"_

"_You seem to be the type who confuses herself quite easily. A habit of yours?"_

"_You could say that,"_

"_Or is that because you are slightly nervous in my presence?"_

"_You seem to be the type who speaks in a certain maturity far ahead of your time,"_

"_Hhrrmmmmm,"_

"_A habit of yours?"_

I smiled at the sweet memory as I placed my hands carefully on the piano, a familiar piece I had composed in my own time, the time I had known her.

"_I've never heard that before? Did you write that?"_

"_How would you know if it was written by me?"_

"_Well just watching you play right now just says so,"_

"_How?"_

"_The way you play this piece. It's like you've been playing it for a very long time yet never get sick of hearing its tune,"_

"_I see. You're very good at reading people,"_

"_Not really,"_

"_Would you like to learn this piece?"_

"_Uh... I'm not that good you know,"_

"_Surely you can learn once again, since you already know the basics,"_

"_I won't master that kind of piece in one lesson you know. I'm not you,"_

"_Then we shall have many lessons,"_

The blush on her cheeks looked so beautiful, tempting but beautiful. Her soft brown eyes lingering longingly on the piano, and her scent was almost too good to be true. I didn't see her as prey though, surprisingly enough, I saw her as something else that I could not describe. Many times I had meant to ask Father but I knew what would happen should I even try to explain it to him. He would first of all curse my taste, going after a full healthy human and then probably lecture me on how I'm only attracted to her because of the scent of her blood. Even if I were to argue that it wasn't her blood I was after, he would never understand. When he had his wife, he had her long before he could smell blood from miles away. Back when he could bleed blood himself. I began playing the very piece that had drawn her attention to me, which made her acknowledge my existence. It was her own curiosity that led her to becoming acquainted with me. How I wished she never heard me playing, then I could still admire her from afar and she would still be human. Why did I have such bad luck whenever I wanted something so much?

"It's been a while since you've played the piano son," Father's voice made me jump. I was surprised at myself that I didn't hear him come into the room, but then again, Father was graceful like that.

"It would seem," was all I could reply.

"Interesting,"

"What is Father?"

"The last time I had heard you playing the piano, was the last time you saw that young maiden,"

"Mmmm,"

"Would she be your inspiration?"

"To play again?"

"No, for the piece in general,"

"Yes, she would be Father,"

"Did she know that?"

"No,"

"What are the odds of her finding you once again and asking you that very question son?"

"Very likely,"

"Will you answer her truthfully?"

"That I do not know Father,"

"She deserves to know,"

"But I would hate to explain to her that the reason why she is a vampire is because my sister got jealous of who she was to me,"

"_Was_ son? I still think she still _is_ something to you," this conversation was definitely not going my way but I surely did not want to show the disgruntled expression to my Father. Father clasped a strong hand on my shoulder before he left the room chuckling to himself. I also hated it when he was right. There was no way in hell I would see Madison again, not with Sora's brilliant failed attempt to attack her. Despite being a newborn vampire, she was doing very well in dealing with the thirst and her new enhanced senses. She was doing well in controlling her given gift as well, something I had carefully master within the household over a couple of decades. I groaned to cover up the still silence, my finger tips lingering lightly on top of the piano keys, wanting to play more. Instead of answering to my hands desire to play once again, I leant forward, having pushed the piano stool back a bit, resting my forearms on my legs and letting my hands dangle in the space I had made in between my legs. I felt my muscles tightened as I remembered the very last piano lesson I had given her, two weeks prior to graduation, and her last day of being human.

"_Oh this isn't good,"_

"_How so?"_

"_Well... this might have to be our last lesson,"_

"_There is still two weeks left in the semester of course,"_

"_Aren't you going to do your exams?"_

"_Oh... those. I almost forgot about our final exams," a small smile fading into a straight line._

"_And I was so close,"_

"_Yes, you were so close,"_

"_Perhaps during the summer?" a straight line forming into a frown._

"_Sadly I won't be here during the summer,"_

"_Why not?"_

"_Going away on holiday with my family. Something I'm afraid I cannot miss for the world,"_

"_I would call you crazy and admit you in the nearest mental institution if you did cancel on your family stupid,"_

"_I would probably have to admit myself,"_

"_Well I guess I won't be seeing much of you after today then,"_

"_Why do you say that?"_

"_Well we have no classes together, unless you could from the start of the year being orientation. You live on the other side of town and I'm going to college after the summer holidays,"_

"_Oh yes. That is true," wishes made to be given the brief miracle to cry. It's raining inside of me, why? Seeing her looking so sad, it's killing me slowly. I can't let that smile fade slowly be the last thing I remember of her. I have to... do something... anything... Are those tears of sadness? No! No! This isn't how it's supposed to be, I want her to be... warm. This feels warm, her touch is warm, and I never want this to stop._

"Are you all right brother?" A soft voice interrupted my thoughts, the memory was so strong it shook me off balance on the stool and made me fall backwards. Luckily I caught myself and landed on all fours instead of my back. I sighed heavily and then got myself up, with my sister helping me up, even though we both knew it wasn't necessary.

"Hello little one," I joked giving her a small smile. Lourdes smiled gently back at me. She was my other sister; the gentler one out of the two Father had thought to keep me company. Lourdes was created not to be a potential wife, but to keep me company and teach me ways of associating with women. She was the smallest of us all, despite being almost the same age as me in terms of eternity. There was no one I knew of who had a kinder soul than Lourdes, so much that I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for the family she had to leave behind because of what she had become. Father had found her heavily wounded in the forest; I remember Father's words when he brought her home, still in transformation. _'She'll do you some good in dealing with women this one. She has one of the kindest soul's I've ever seen. You can see it in her innocent eyes,'_ and as clear as crystal to this very day, you could still see the very innocence Father was talking about, deep within her hazel brown eyes.

In my own opinion, she must have been a hit with the young men of her time and hometown. She had long dark brown hair that reached just at her elbows, wavy with a couple of soft curls framing her delicate face. Her thin lips, thin eyebrows and petite physique sent all the boys into limbo the moment we step foot in high school. It was enough for me to bear with, having a million human men chasing after my vampire sister. Funny enough without my help, they stayed clear of getting too close to Lourdes, either it was my dark presence that scared them off or Lourdes having her own way in dealing with them.

"You never miss a beat brother. Why only today?" Lourdes asked curiously, taking a seat on the couch arm. I sat back down on the piano stool. Although innocent, she was probably the most talented tracker as well. She knew sudden changes in behaviour within the moment, it was my theory that this was her gift that had carried over from her human form; worry.

"I have no idea little sister. All I know is that I'm in for a rough trial," I replied, running both my hands through my hair roughly. I wanted so much to just let everything out but I couldn't. Although Lourdes was aware of my interest in... her. That didn't mean that I should tell all. My family was not accustomed to the idea of vampires suddenly falling for humans. It would be a ridiculous idea in their minds yet Lourdes always had a gift for surprising me.

"A trial you say? Whatever for? You haven't done any unjust to anyone. Not that I know of," Lourdes asked, rather mortified at the thought of me going through a tough moment in my eternal life. To me it seemed like nothing, but with the risk of her being included, this looked to be a little too much.

"It really doesn't concern you though. You shouldn't worry yourself too much. You'll be the death of yourself,"

"Oh very funny brother. Like I haven't already heard that from you,"

"Yes I know I'm hilarious. What is your business with me?"

"Oh I was just pondering on something delicate,"

"Like?"

"My brother's sudden desire to play the piano,"

"Oh geez. Not you too?"

"Brother you haven't touched it in a while. Even though it's only been a couple of weeks, it's enough for Father to notice,"

"Is it really that obvious?"

"You used to play the piano every day for goodness sakes. Sometimes it drove us insane but you still played it anyways. You played many pieces but you played that particular pieces many times over and over again. To hear you play that piece it makes me happy but sad at the same time," Lourdes explained, with an analytical look on her face.

"You look into things way too much," Lourdes shrugged when I said this.

"When you have so much time on your hands, what would a lady do to keep herself amused?"

"Learn a new language,"

"Argh! Just because you can speak fluent in Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French..."

"Okay! Okay! I get it now," I cut in, getting bored of her list already, "Why don't you amuse yourself with something else, besides analysing my behaviour for today?"

"Makes me wish I had seen her more often at school," Lourdes said, pouting playfully at me as she took her leave. I sighed again and soon followed her out of the living room, this time taking my original route of the manor to my room. Upon closing the door I closed my eyes, even though I couldn't sleep, I could still dream couldn't I? My thoughts always returned to her though; how original. If there was any chance of me completely forgetting her, I would have to send myself to the Volturi. I thought back to the first day I saw her again, standing in the middle of the Cullens' living room, very alert, but she still seemed to be the very girl who I used to play the piano for, and the girl I loved from afar.


	7. Chpt 6: Worthless

6. Worthless

As the early drops of the morning rain began to drop from the clouds above to my window sill, I heavily sighed to welcome the new day. New day for humans that is. It was the same old bloody day from hell for me. Nothing could distract me from having seen Madison in the previous week. Ever since I had wondered how she was holding up with her abilities, her new home and diet. Thinking about her adjusting to this lifestyle made my blood boil. But I knew a part of her becoming a vampire was partially my fault. If I had just been a little more careful in my association with her and paid more attention to Sora's bidding rather than hers, perhaps Madison would still be with her family now, enjoying her human life. But now wasn't the time to be pondering what her life would be like if Sora hadn't become jealous.

"Good morning brother," Lourdes greeted having walked into my room quietly.

"You do realise you aren't that quiet when you are creeping up behind me," I replied, rolling me eyes as I continued to stare out the window.

"Yes I know. But it is fun to think so," Lourdes replied cheerfully. She always had a cheerful personality, most likely one of the many traits in why Father had chosen to save her rather than let her die.

"What is today's agenda? Fabricating essays to prove you are learning in College?"

"No I don't think so. If I have to look at one I am surely going to lose my mind,"

"Big deal if you have to go through the process all over again. They change over the decades! That's what keeps you on your toes don't you think?" she replied positively.

"It really amazes me how you are still able to look on the bright side when even you have done this process one too many times. It's enough to drive one to death from the boredom those tasks bring,"

"It amazes me too brother,"

"Human's have it so easy. Since they grow older they only have to go through the process once in their lifetime. To keep ourselves amused and tire away from boredom and temptation to kill humans we have resorted to doing this damn educational procedure every bloody decade or so,"

"Negative as always,"

"Can you blame me?"

"No, brother. Not really, but it wouldn't kill you to find something else to do than to look outside your window at seven in the morning. Only to complain about our never-ending educational journey,"

"As usual, the positive one is right," I sighed and walked past her, making my way down to the living room.

"Piano again brother?"

"Would it kill you to not question everything I do?"

"I'm only doing it so that you are aware your behaviour is not the usual," Lourdes grumbled, following me out of my room. As I made my way down the stairs, Lourdes headed for room, not following me for once. As much as I loved her as the dear sister she was, there were times when her positivity and tender loving care really got to me. Not because it was annoying but because it reminded me of her. Stupid as it was. I was unable to forget anything during my bitter eternity, so it would be impossible to forget anything I had to do with her. Considering the fact that she played a huge role of the vampire I was today. I didn't give much of a damn about the world around me; she opened my eyes to what I could do in my 'spare' time. How I could make my days like an adventure the moment the sun rose to a supposedly new beginning. I stared out the living room window, thinking of what to call this day.

"_You can't just think that it's a different day. You have to BELIEVE it's a different day,"_

"_There is no way I can do that. That's stupid,"_

"_Think carefully of what the day could hold for you,"_

"_I was raised in London. The weather is not something I can use to define my everyday adventures,"_

"_Then why not the way the world looks after it has finished raining,"_

"_Why in the world would I do that?"_

"_Because after the rain has finished falling, the place looks so new; refreshed. Ready to begin a new beginning,"_

I sighed, deciding not to name the day and sat myself once again in front of the piano. I didn't feel like playing the usual; I didn't feel like explaining myself to Lourdes or Father. It was like playing that particular piece was becoming a chore. Knowing very well that questions would be flying should the notes echo through the house. It was then a small melody formed in my head, I found it rather interesting so began playing it over and over again. It wasn't sad or jubilant; it was what I called 'hopeful'. I thought back to when I saw Madison for the first time since she disappeared, my emotional status was frustration before I had seen her. The reason being Sora; I did not feel like going on a wild goose chase to locate my wild sister and bring her back home. But I remembered how I felt having seen her. Upon hearing of her sudden disappearance worried me, but seeing her in the form she was now worried me more. I wanted nothing more than to shake her to make sure I wasn't hallucinating from my burning anger at my sister. Why on earth did it have to be this way? Why was I put in the position to see someone I cared for, turn into something, something like me, without being given a choice? Father always believed that everyone had a choice. I knew what his choice would have been if he had been given one when his wife died. He would have asked to die with her than to live with the pain of having seen her die in his arms. If Madison had a choice, what would she have chosen? To live as a normal human or to be with me, as a vampire. A question that would never be answered considering Madison was already a vampire.

I continued playing the same small tune over and over again. I paused for a brief period of time, to let the melody sink in. I could already see in my head why the melody was so dominant in my thoughts. Because for that brief time I saw her again, I wanted to hold her close to me, I wanted her to remember who I was, knowing very well she didn't have a clue of how close we were. We had gone to school for a year and a half but I knew everything about her from the way she held her reputation at school. She wasn't the sassy high school cheerleader who had a new boyfriend every week. She wasn't the class nerd who took pride in developing a new organic way of making chemical concoctions. She wasn't placed in the group of international students just because she was ha lf Asian. She was what everyone would call 'normal'. Whereas I found her beyond normal, she was what I called eternal beauty. Talented, bright and one of the most easy going people I had ever met. And because Lourdes, Sora and I weren't always the most approachable people, she treated any association with us by chance, as if we were part of the school body. Not really looking too deeply into our awkwardness around humans, our pale skin and mysterious aura. People swayed away from us in the hallways as if we were people who should not be messed with; all Sora's doing of course with her aggressive personality. I wanted just one person to look at us different to everyone else and she was that person. Why did it have to be a person I would fall for? I cursed the day I realised I was falling for her.

It was stupid, I thought it was stupid. A vampire falling for a human; I had heard the concept of the hunter falling for the prey but only in stories; never the real thing. I swallowed that idea down, not wanting to follow the thread which put me in the category of pathetic.

"You're not pathetic you know," a familiar gentle voice said behind me. I stood up lightening speed to see the young gentleman from the Cullens' residence standing in the doorway. He smiled as if I was complimenting him, though I said nothing.

"Can I help you sir?" I asked, not forgetting who I was and what family I came from.

"Call me Edward," Edward suggested, "Sir sounds too proper for my liking,"

"Edward it is," I replied, taken back by his casual presence, "Can I help you in anyway?" I repeated.

"Perhaps you can," Edward replied, a clever smile upon his face. If I could digest as I had done while I was human, my stomach would have clenched right at this moment. There was nothing intimidating about Edward; it was more along the lines that I knew why he was standing in front of me and what I was supposedly going to help him with. I saw Edward's smile again for the second time in that span of 10 minutes. Something wasn't quite right.

"What exactly are you doing here and how did you know where I live?" I asked, suddenly remembering the journey between the two households. Surely it would have taken him days.

"You play the piano I see," Edward commented, nodding his head towards the piano, completely ignoring my question. Again I was caught by surprise at his comment, I was expecting something straightforward about Madison; smile no. 3. Why I was counting the number of times his mocking smile appeared on his face; I had no idea.

"Yes. Yes I do,"

"You seem to play well," Edward complimented, "I happened to hear upon my arrival,"

"Why exactly are you here?"

"I have a feeling you know very well the reason why I am here,"

"You didn't bring her here did you?"

"No. She doesn't know I'm here. She is under the impression I'm taking a random stroll,"

"For a couple of days?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow.

"Well I'm known for disappearing for small periods of time," Edward replied, nodding his head in knowing where I was going when questioning him, "Although there are some things I'd like the ask if you don't mind,"

"And they are?"

"What does this particular piece mean to you?" Edward asked, before making his way to the piano. I moved aside to let him sit, I walked towards the nearest armchair and sat on the arm; hands in my pockets. I was hoping this would hide my ultimate fear of his discovering too much about Madison's past; not to mention, look casual.

I didn't watch him play; my eyes remained on the floor. The moment he played the first 3 bars of music I froze. I remained frozen until he had finished near the end of the song; turning himself around to look at me for answers. Not because he was brilliant on the piano and not because he played that particular piece, who by my knowledge, no one knew except for me, my family and Madison knew of. Oh it was a definite 'no' to those options. I froze because he played it up until near the end of the song, up to the very bit that Madison had learnt up to during our time together.

"You're facial expression and your thoughts are telling me too different things Master Salvador," Edward commented. My thoughts? Was that why he smiled a few times while I wasn't saying anything? Because he could hear my insecurities of him mentioning Madison and my self-explanation of knowing her? Good God.

"Well, I don't know how to phrase it really," I replied, feeling something in my throat.

"Sometimes you don't need to. They say body language gives 80% of the message, words being 20%,"

"So they say,"

"My question for you is simple," Edward stated, his tone turning serious, I gulped, "Why is it that Madison is only able to play up until that particular bar of notes," I somehow relaxed at his question. It was an easy answer for me to begin with.

"I used to teach her how to play this piece. In high school she loved the melody from hearing it in the hallways after school. So I offered to teach her, after school of course and sometimes during lunch break. She was an eager learner, but she only learnt up until that part of the song because of our senior exams and graduation. She disappeared shortly after," I explained, remembering back to the time spent teaching her. How delicate she was and how beautiful she looked while playing the piano. I knew very well Edward could see this and there was no way he could understand just how beautiful she was.

"Wrong again," Edward said, breaking my train of thought.

"Wrong in what way?"

"I understand you very well. More than you could imagine,"

"Your wife is one of us and was most likely human before you turned her out of love,"

"Yes and no," Edward said, nodding as he answered, "I married her legally when she was human Xavier,"

"How do you know my real name is Xavier?"

"Rhys sounds too casual from such a family who pride themselves in their stature,"

"I guess. I use Rhys more because I want to be equal. Not because I rebel against this lifestyle,"

"Hrrmmmm… Interesting,"

"What is?"

"Did you really come up with that name or was it given to you by someone you held dear to you?"

"Are you able to look into someone's past as well?"

"No. That's not my ability. I was just trying to figure you out,"

"Can't you just do that by reading my mind?"

"All that's in your mind right now is Madison. So my answers are not there," I was rather taken back by his statements. The tone he used and the way he phrased them for me, it wasn't like he was taunting me or insulting me. He just wanted answers, being considerate for both Madison and I; most especially our past.

"Has…" I began, not really knowing how to do this.

"Yes?"

"Has Madison been asking a lot of questions?" I asked, finally being able to finish my sentence.

"Well. She has asked a few questions but she seems to be wanting to figure this out herself. She's visited numerous places she remembers being in. For instance the lake we found her in and around the woods where she followed Sora's scent from the first attack,"

"I see. She hasn't been near the school has she?"

"Oh of course not. We know better than to let a newborn vampire in an area constantly full of humans,"

"I don't think, even as a newborn vampire, Madison would harm anyone. Any newborn vampire who would have been attacked by Sora would have straight away ripped her to pieces the moment she is unconscious. Whereas Madison merely tied her up to keep her stationary," Edward seemed to be following what I was saying, which led me to thinking whether I had said too much.

"You do have a solid point. It just worries me of why she is reluctant to find you and ask you herself though,"

"I have a strong feeling Madison's personality from when she was human, has most definitely carried over during her transformation," I said, a smile forming on my face. This was exactly how Madison was; she wasn't the type to ask a lot of people for the information she needed. She was keener on figuring out things herself.

"I see," Edward said, most likely in response to my reminiscing of her personality in high school. "She's more of the 'if-I-see-him-again-its-fate' kind of person?"

"Yes. Yes she is. She's a big believer on that. She believes everything happens for a reason,"

"So that is why she is reading too much into Sora attacking her,"

"Most likely, yes. Sora only attacked at wanting to kill her for being my interest rather than herself,"

"Hrrrmmmm… I could only know too well,"

"How exactly would you know if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well for one. The blonde woman you saw when you came to my household is my sister Rosalie. She was supposed to be my love interest but I never saw her anything more than a sister. She may not have gone to great lengths to harm my wife Bella like Sora is doing now. But from my understanding Rosalie was very much against Bella knowing what we were and our lifestyle. Very much to the point where it was obvious that she was jealous that I had chosen someone else. Someone who she thought to be less pretty than her," Edward explained, a coy smile on his face.

"Well I can see why she would think so. She is what I would call a radiant beauty,"

"So you are fond of those types are you?"

"I'm only interested in women who prove to be a challenge to me,"

"And Madison was a challenge to you?"

"Yes. I didn't understand why she was so appealing to me. She always made me thirsty for human blood but there was something about that kept me from answering that thirst. I wanted to see just how well I could pull this off,"

"Without really meaning to fall for her?" Edward guessed, raising his eyebrow at me.

"Well you seem to get the picture. Seeing as you obviously have been through it,"

"You're no different than I in this situation. But the difference between us now is that I know what I want when it comes to my wife. You need to figure out whether you want her to stay in your life or not," Edward concluded. With a small smile he was already at the door to let himself out. I heard the door close gently and then the speed of his feet on the ground as he left the estate. Edward was right in saying so but I knew it would be a while before I could confirm to myself whether it felt right to come back into Madison's life. I already felt worthless having been the reason why her precious human life had been taken away from her. Only to be replaced with the same endless hell we vampires lived by. We didn't have to life this long, we could easily commit suicide by somewhat exposing the vampire race but I didn't have the guts to do it. I didn't want to leave my family or hurt them either. We, from the beginning of our time together, had lived for each other and there was nothing was would draw us apart.


End file.
